Memories of Past and Present
by Lady Genjutsu
Summary: Auron x Rikku. Because of a mysterious machina accident, Rikku believes she might be able to change Auron's fate. Chapter 22 is up!
1. Recognition

Disclaimer: I don't own Squaresoft, or Auron or Rikku or any other square characters that may appear in this fic. Blah blah, yadda yadda, you know the rest.  
  
A/N: Again, this is not a direct sequel to either of my other Aurikku's, but they do coincide with each other. If you like this, you can read my other two for more in-game Aurikku, but it's not required to get the story.  
  
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Chapter One: Recognition  
  
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Auron was sure that, had he not already been dead, he would have died of a heart attack when he saw the girl that Tidus was talking to just North of the Moonflow. That girl… She looked unmistakably like *her*… But… How could that be possible?!?  
  
He stopped dead in his tracks, thanking the stars that all his years of self-discipline was finally paying off. Otherwise, there would have been no way he could stand on his two feet while looking the girl in the face while keeping his impartial expression.  
  
"Hi! I'm Rikku!" She said very brightly to Yuna and her Guardians as the approached her and Tidus.  
  
Now Auron could no longer prevent the lump that formed in his throat. Rikku? Impossible! It just couldn't be… Unable to mask his face any longer, he turned his back on the group, who took no notice, as they knew Auron was never the very sociable type anyway.  
  
It had been so long… Auron plunged into long suppressed memories and emotions of the past… That girl… She could not be Rikku! It was impossible. Yet, as he watched her talk to Yuna and Lulu out of the corner of his eye, he could not deny the uncanny appearance. Blonde hair tied up in the same spunky style… The two long braids that fell down her back… Even pink tank top and green shorts remained the same.  
  
You're mind's playing tricks on you, old man, He thought, and shook his head.  
  
"Sir Auron." Yuna's voice called from behind him.  
  
He straightened and somehow pulled himself together, willing himself to face Yuna and the young girl beside her with his usual, unreadable face.  
  
"I'd like Rikku to be my Guardian." She stated. Obviously she was looking for his approval, as her most respected Guardian and looked up to him whenever she needed advice or guidance.  
  
This somewhat shocked Auron even more, but again, he hid it. He paused for a moment, and then strode over to Rikku. She was looking at her feet, avoiding his single-eyed gaze. However, it was already obvious that, if it was really her, she didn't recognize him.  
  
"Show me your face…" He heard himself say. There was only one other feature that he had to see before he knew for sure.  
  
"Um… Okay." She lifted her face slowly upwards, but her eyelids were closed, concealing the evidence that Auron was after. Her face was so astonishingly the same… If it was her, she had be miraculously untouched by time… In fact, she looked even more youthful than he remembered.  
  
"Open your eyes." He instructed, amazed at how well composed his voice was. He certainly didn't feel how he sounded.  
  
Slowly, Rikku lifted one eyelid to reveal what Auron had sought to see- and sure enough, a bright, emerald eye with a spiralled pupil me his gaze.  
  
"…As I thought." He said, his voice still miraculously neutral, to say the turmoil inside him made him feel like the world was spinning as though in some sort of chaotic dream. His mind reeled in an endless circle, experiencing a succession of overpowering emotions ranging from shock, to pain, to disbelief. It was just too much of a coincidence.  
  
"Um… No good?" The girl asked, who was now undeniable the Rikku he had hoped and feared she was.  
  
Auron blinked, and then realized that she must think he disapproved of her because she was an Al Bhed.  
  
He paused. Should he ask her if she remembered him? No. It was definitely evident from the way she acted that she had no clue that he was. It was best to this revelation to himself until he could figure out exactly what was happening. He then remembered that he was supposed to be evaluating on whether or not Rikku should be a guardian to Yuna.  
  
"Are you certain?" He finally managed to say.  
  
"One-hundred percent!" She chirped. "So, can I?"  
  
"If… Yuna wishes it." He replied, and decided to say no more for fear his voice would begin to betray what he felt.  
  
"I do." Yuna responded.  
  
And that was it. 'Rikku' was now an official Guardian of Yuna's. By the time the party had reached Guadosalam, there was no doubt left in Auron's mind. The way she talked, the way she fought, right down to her astounding ability to pilfer items from her enemies, she was the same girl as the one from his past.  
  
Somehow, by some inexplicable miracle by some unknown entity… Rikku had once again entered his life, and she would undoubtedly turn his life upside- down.  
  
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A/N: Just so you know, this is the only chapter in the story that takes place during the actual game. This is my first attempt at a multi-chapter Aurikku, and feedback would be great. Reviews are good. Reviews are my inspiration. Flames are not nice, so please no flamey me, okie? Thanks! ^_^ 


	2. Highwind'

A/N: First of all, thank you very much to those who gave me such nice reviews, I appreciate it, it means a lot ^_^  
  
Second, if the last chapter didn't really make sense, that's okay, it'll get explained later, hehe  
  
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Chapter 2- 'Highwind'  
  
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"Are you sure this is it?" Rikku inquired while she began zipping herself into her diving gear.  
  
"Yep. I'm pretty sure," Replied Rikku's father, Cid. "Accordin' to the ship's database, this is where the 'Highwind' crashed and sank over 1000 years ago."  
  
"Right…" Rikku moved to the excavation ship's railing where her father stood, and peered over the edge. The ship's searchlights pierced through the evening's fog, but were smothered when shone into the black, unfathomable depths of the ocean below. It was such a vast area, totally unexplored until a couple years ago. It was only a few miles off the coast of Bevelle, and before that, the Al Bhed had not dared to go that close to Yevon's capital. However, now that they were all at peace with each other, they now searched the territory surrounding Spira's mainland without fear. When Cid had finally managed to access the database of the airship they had found three years earlier, he had discovered there was supposedly another ship like it that was far more advanced and powerful. When the database revealed that the ship had tragically crashed off the coast of Bevelle, he jumped at the chance to salvage it, dragging Rikku along to help, despite her protests.  
  
"Remember, one hour and then check in with me! I won't have ya getting' lost at sea!" Cid stated, bringing Rikku back to the task at hand. "Just scout the area as much as you can, but don't expect to find anything right away. It may be weeks before we actually find it, if it's even still intact."  
  
Rikku crinkled her nose; as much as she usually loved finding ancient machina, she just wasn't looking forward to it today. It seemed like an awful long shot to go looking for some airship in the middle of the ocean with nothing to go by but some rough directions found in an ancient database. Nevertheless, she pulled her goggles over her eyes, nodded to her father and dived over the railing into the ocean.  
  
Ever since the fall of Sin three years ago, she had somewhat lost her interest in this activity. In fact, she had lost her interest in just about everything for months afterward. As much as she was glad that Sin was gone forever, and that the hatred among the different races of Spira were gone, she had begun to mourn those she had lost over the course of the pilgrimage. Her friends and family from Home. The loss of Tidus… and most of all, the loss of Auron.  
  
Rikku shivered as she dived beneath the ocean's surface, her insulated suit still unable to block out the frigidness of the water entirely. She thrust herself downwards, trying to keep her thoughts on something other than how cold the water was…Auron… Perhaps he was the biggest reason she had fell into a state of depression over the months following Sin's defeat. It would be a blatant lie to say that hadn't been in a relationship. In truth, Rikku wasn't sure whether the Yuna and the others had known or not, but she didn't really care. It had never been official, of course, and they had been very discreet about expressing their emotions. In fact, they had been near the end of Yuna's pilgrimage before they had confessed their feelings for each other, and even then it hadn't been a verbal confession.  
  
Rikku squeezed her eyes shut at the painful, yet blissful memory of the one and only kiss they had shared at Zanarkand's border, at sunrise. It had been one moment… But it had been so full of passion and emotion that Rikku could remember it as though it had happened yesterday. Auron had never been very much of an emotionally open man, but all throughout their journey, the two had developed an unspoken bond. He always knew her so well… as though he'd known her all his life. He seemed to know and understand her habits and the way she thought before anyone else did. It was strange… But Rikku had always figured he was good at reading people's actions. He had such a strong presence when he was near her, and even now, years later, she sometimes thought that she could still feel his powerful essence near her, as though he were watching over her.  
  
Her thoughts were jolted back to the present when she made out a massive, dark form on an elevated part of the sea's floor a few yards down. That couldn't be it, could it? She paused. She had been swimming straight down for more than half an hour… But she couldn't have found it already, could she? Didn't her father say it would take months to find? Maybe this was her lucky day.  
  
She swam with more speed than she had started with, and as she got closer, she realized that this was indeed, a large machina, possibly the airship 'Highwind' that Cid was looking for. Rikku stopped swimming as she made note of her position on her portable navigation unit. Then she paused as she wondered whether she should continue to navigate the ship or head back. Rikku looked up towards the surface. She should really head back, it would take her the remainder of the hour to get back to the surface, but she had come so far… She figured Cid could wait a little longer and ultimately opted to continue exploring; She was finally beginning to get excited about this, and she wasn't about to turn back now.  
  
Without a second thought, Rikku swam onward, keeping close to the wall of the massive machina in attempt to find an opening where she could go in. After five minutes, she found a breach in the hull, and after a minute or two of squeezing her lithe frame through the small hole, she finally found herself inside of what was unmistakably the bridge of an airship.  
  
Feeling excitement like she hadn't since Sin's defeat, she swam over to the control panel. She crossed her arms a moment in doubt. The ship was over a thousand years old, it wasn't likely the system would be operational after so much time underwater without any maintenance. Still it was worth a try…  
  
As though by some miracle, the system astonishingly sprung to life when Rikku touched the control panel. She hesitated, not entirely certain what she should do next. She had limited knowledge of the other airship's controls, but these were far more advanced than that. It was incredible that the main power had come online after centuries of being forgotten in the sea. This ship must have been made after the one her father had, much later by the look of it… Probably very near the time of Sin's arrival.  
  
Now that the ship's emergency lights were on, Rikku ventured off of the bridge and swam through the dimly lit corridors. They were much different from the other ship… In fact, while Cid's ship was both a battleship and passenger ship, this one seemed totally dedicated to scientific research. There were fewer hallways and chambers, and more machina related things. When she reached the end of the corridor, she found a large steal set of doors that were half closed. She manoeuvred her way through the opening, forgetting everything her father had said about being back in an hour.  
  
She gasped at what she found.  
  
There, in the middle of the large room she had entered, was a machina like she'd never seen before. It was a massive structure, a large platform- like middle with many controls and lights adorning the eight steel posts placed around it that reached the ceiling. Rikku, in all her life of excavating and researching machina, had never once seen anything remotely like it.  
  
Almost more astounding than the actual machina, was the fact that one of the screens in front of a control panel in the corner of the room was on. Amazed, Rikku swam over to investigate. There was a message on the screen written in ancient Al Bhed. She had studied the ancient language, which was similar to her own, but was still learning, and not entirely fluent, as she discovered when she tried to translate the message.  
  
'Press…key…continue' Was all she was able to make out. Tilting her head to one side, she tried to figure out what it meant. She looked down at the controls where a several rows of lit buttons were positioned. Without thinking, Rikku began to randomly press the buttons, hoping it would do something.  
  
Suddenly the loud humming of activated machina echoed through the water, and she felt tremors emitting from the large machina in the middle of the room. Her eyes widened in surprise and she whirled around to see rays of light emanating from the center of the machine, and it began to pull her to it, like a vacuum, and despite her best efforts to resist the pull, she ultimately found herself speeding towards the machine with little control of her movements.  
  
When she reached the platform in the middle of the machina, she dropped suddenly to it, and she realized that there was no water on the platform, as a shield of light appeared to have surrounded it and herself. The tremors and the sound of the electric hum had increased drastically, and she dropped to her knees, covering her ears, terrified that she was going to die. She could no longer suppress an intense scream as a jolt of electricity shot from the eight poles surrounding her directly into her, causing her body to quake violently.  
  
It was almost a relief when her body went numb, as she was finally free from the severe pain she had been feeling. She squeezed her eyes tight, regretting with her entire being that she had come here in the first place, that she should have returned to her father when she had the chance. Now she was going to die…  
  
And as soon as the whole thing had started, it was over. No pain. No numbness. No hum of the wretched electricity, nor the fierce vibrations. Nothing.  
  
She realized, she was laying down… on what? She opened her eyes. She was no longer in the dreary, ill-lit ruins of an airship. She was lying in the bright sun, on a beach, and she felt sand beneath her hands and water gently splashing against her feet. The shock of all that had happened in the time span of five minutes was overwhelming, and she lay there in complete shock, unable to comprehend what had happened to her.  
  
After what must have been half an hour, Rikku finally pulled herself to her hands and knees, although she was shaking terribly, both from the emotional shock of her situation, and the physical shock of being electrocuted by eight rays of voltage hitting her simultaneously.  
  
She stood, and removed her goggles from her face. Her mind was still unable to function properly. What was happening? Where was she? How did she get here? Was she dead? What about the machina? Endless questions buzzed through her head in rapid succession, each one going unanswered.  
  
She had only taken one queasy step towards the ocean, when she heard a voice, the first one she'd heard since she'd left her father on the excavation ship over an hour ago.  
  
"Are you alright?" A husky male voice asked from somewhere behind her. That voice… was astoundingly familiar…  
  
Rikku swallowed and shakily pivoted to face her speaker. When she did, she screamed, and then blacked out, the situation finally overwhelming her into unconsciousness…  
  
For the man that had spoken to her, and had caught her as she toppled forward, was none other than the young and proud Auron.  
  
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A/N: Erm, I hope that this chapter wasn't too boring or confusing. If it was I'll try to improve my next chapter. At any rate, it will make more sense as the story goes on. Oh, and I sincerely apologize for any typo or grammatical errors, I'm horrible at editing my stories. Please please oh pretty please, review! I really really really really like reviews! Thanks ^_^ 


	3. The Plan

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Chapter 3 – The Plan  
  
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"So, where did you find her again?" A soft masculine voice brought Rikku to consciousness.  
  
"On the East coast's shore, a little South-East of Bevelle." Came the reply of a second voice… Auron's voice!  
  
At that second, the current situation became apparent in her head… She opened her eyes, and sure enough, there was Auron, his back to her. He was talking to… to… She'd seen that face! It was… Braska! High summoner Braska, her Uncle! But… How was that possible? Braska had died from killing Sin… But there he was, and there was Auron… who looked younger… He was barely a man… A light went on in Rikku's head.  
  
Did this mean… She was in the past?!?!  
  
She tried to say something, but she found that she was too weak to even lift her head, so she opted to remain silent. The men continued talking, as they were unaware that she had awoken.  
  
"Do you know who she is?" Braska asked the young man.  
  
"No, but I do know that she's a heathen Al Bhed. I saw her eyes before she collapsed." Auron replied, and crossed his arms, a disapproving look on his face.  
  
"Auron, my friend, you must not judge a person by their race." Braska reasoned softly, upon seeing Auron's frown.  
  
Yep, Rikku thought, that was Braska, ever the gentle and understanding one. She'd never met the man, but she'd seen him on Jecht spheres, and he was always mediating between Jecht and the young man he was now talking to.  
  
Auron grunted. "The Al Bhed are all the same. They cannot be trusted." Was Auron really that racist in his youth?  
  
"Ah, but you couldn't really believe that, or else you would not have brought her to me for treatment."  
  
Auron uncrossed his arms, somewhat taken off-guard by this comment. "Erm… Well, regardless of her sacrilegious ways, I could not leave her to die…"  
  
Rikku smiled weakly. Auron was just as serious and stiff in his youth as he was when she'd known him.  
  
Just then, Braska turned his head towards Rikku to find her spiralling pupils staring back at her. He nudged Auron and nodded towards her, and he too, turned to face the young Al Bhed, somewhat startled by the fact that she was awake. Rikku suppressed a giggle. Although he was still serious to a fault, the young man had not yet developed the mask he would always wear in the future that concealed what he was feeling.  
  
The three fell silent as Auron and Rikku locked eyes. She fought back the tears that were threatening to moisten her eyes. It was really him. She thought that she'd never see him again, but here he was, regarding her with that firm, steady gaze, even if he was ten years younger than when she'd known him.  
  
His attire was very much like what she remembered, his long scarlet coat nearly reaching the floor, although he used both sleeves instead of neglecting the one. He still had his sombre face, and his bronze-colored eyes pierced hers just as they had when Rikku had first met him… Only now, he had two eyes instead of the one. His handsome features were much smoother then in his later years, and his long ebony black hair shone and was tied back as it had always been. Not a trace of grey. Not a wrinkle on his face. When Rikku had known him, he was ruggedly handsome. But now he was nothing short of beautiful. They continued to stare at each other, and while Rikku was rendered speechless by Auron's striking form, she did not even realize that he was just as captivated with her as she was with him.  
  
"Hello there," Braska said kindly, kneeling before Rikku, causing her to break eye contact with Auron. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"I… uh…" Rikku had a hard time finding her voice. "I'm alright thanks, just a little tired."  
  
"Glad to hear it. You are in the city of Bevelle, and were found unconscious on the East coast. Don't worry though; we have no intention of causing you any trouble. I am Braska, and this here is Auron, who found you and brought you here. Do you remember what happened?" Braska asked her.  
  
Rikku hesitated with her answer. She could see it now- 'Yeah I come from a decade later… give or take a few years. I'm your niece Braska, and Auron, you're my lover who died and left me to wallow in my grief for years to come.' Rikku shook her head. Somehow, she didn't think that'd go over too well. Best keep her origins and situation to herself.  
  
"Erm, not really," She lied, "I don't remember a thing…" Then an idea hit her. "I think… I think I was attacked by Sin!" She beamed inwardly, knowing that they wouldn't question what she knew now.  
  
"Sin's toxin!" Braska breathed, shocked. "You are very lucky to be alive! "Do you remember anything at all?"  
  
Rikku slowly sat up. She saw she had been lying in a bed inside of a small room. Outside the window she could see the ocean.  
  
"Yes… I know I'm Al Bhed. I know the people of Yevon hate us. I know Sin… I just don't remember what happened to me, or why I'm here." Again, Rikku congratulated herself on making up her story so quickly.  
  
"What's your name?" Braska asked.  
  
"…Rikku." She figured there was no harm in giving her real name.  
  
"Rikku…" Braska stated thoughtfully, "My wife's brother had a little girl named Rikku." He smiled sadly. "I never met her though. You see, my wife was an Al Bhed, like you. Her brother cut off all communication with her because she married me…"  
  
"I'm sorry." Rikku replied, unsure why he was telling her all this. She shrugged. Braska was obviously a very open man, very much the opposite of the stoic Auron.  
  
Braska smiled. No one said anything for a moment, and then Braska stood up and headed for the door.  
  
"I'm afraid I must be off to the temple now," He said, "I will be late for my training otherwise. It has been a pleasure to meet you Rikku, I shall see you again soon. Tomorrow we'll help you to try and regain your memory. Just rest until then."  
  
Auron stiffened visibly, and found his voice for the first time since Rikku had woken up. "But Braska, won't you be too busy with your training to try and-"  
  
"We took her into our care, Auron. The very least we can do for the poor girl is to help her in her recovery. Farewell Rikku, I shall see you tomorrow."  
  
"Er… Goodbye." Then after a moment, "Nice meeting you too…"  
  
The door closed, leaving her and Auron alone. Several moments passed in silence. Rikku wanted so badly to tell him everything, about the incident that brought her here, and about how much she missed him, how much she loved him, but she knew that would result in a lot of confusion and disorder. She decided to start with simple topics.  
  
"So… Where exactly in Bevelle am I?" She asked timidly.  
  
"My home." He replied shortly, and took a seat in the chair a few feet from where she sat.  
  
"Oh…"  
  
More silence passed. This was going nowhere fast. She decided to try and find out more about how far back in time she had travelled.  
  
She cleared her throat. "Erm… what kind of training is Braska doing?"  
  
Auron glared at her. "He is training to become a summoner. Something you wouldn't understand, I daresay."  
  
"Why does he want to be a summoner?"  
  
Auron's scowl deepened. "That is not your business."  
  
"Uh, yeah, I know… but if Braska married an Al Bhed, he couldn't be too much into this Yevon stuff, could he?"  
  
Auron sighed. Rikku held his gaze, waiting for a response. Finally he said, "If you must know, he is becoming a summoner because his wife was killed by Sin. He feels he is responsible to prevent that tragedy happening to anyone else."  
  
"You don't sound too happy about it."  
  
"I… Do not think it is wise for him to become a summoner at this point, but that is what he wishes, so I am supporting him to the best of my ability." He replied somewhat hesitantly.  
  
"You don't think it's 'wise'?" Rikku knew she was pushing her luck with the stern man, but she wanted to know exactly where in Auron's timeline she was.  
  
"He… has a young daughter. She's only five years old." He answered, to her surprise.  
  
Nothing more was said as Rikku pieced together the information she had received. So Braska was not yet a summoner. Yuna was five years old, which meant Rikku was approximately fifteen years into the past. She pondered this for a while, but then the silence became awkward.  
  
"So, uh… What do you do?" She asked.  
  
"What do I do?" Auron echoed her inquiry sceptically.  
  
"Yeah, what do you do for a living?"  
  
"I am a monk in the temple of Bevelle. When Braska finishes his apprenticeship, I will become his Guardian. " He replied.  
  
So he hadn't been ex-communicated yet. What a bizarre situation she was in! Never in a million years did she think she'd find herself conversing with the young Auron, the man that she loved, though she would not technically meet him for another twelve years… Twelve years… He would meet her.  
  
Her mind suddenly began to spin with panic. Was this accident going to change the future? When Auron meets her twelve years from now, what will happen? Will she even ever get back to her time? How was she going to get out of here? What was going to happen to her? She bit her lower lip. Maybe she could ask Auron and Braska for help? Would they understand? Should she try and gain their trust first?  
  
"What are you doing?" Auron's voice startled her, and she realized that she had grabbed her head with both hands, shaking it back and forth; a habit that she did subconsciously when she was in deep concentration.  
  
"Er…heh heh heh." She quickly placed her hands in her lap and grinned sheepishly. "Just thinking."  
  
Auron raised an eyebrow. "Looks like that's quite a task for you."  
  
Rikku fumed at the insult, but found she had nothing to say as a retort.  
  
He smirked slightly, the closest thing that she'd seen to a smile since she got here. "Don't expect to remember everything at once. It takes a long time to recover from Sin's toxin. Sometimes years."  
  
Rikku nodded, but still glared at him. If she hadn't loved the man so much she would have stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
Auron stood. "Get some rest." He said simply, and exited the room.  
  
Rikku hesitated then laid back down on the bed. She shut her eyes tight. As much as she wanted to go back to her time, she couldn't suppress the happiness she felt at seeing Auron again. Even if he didn't know.  
  
A thought suddenly occurred to Rikku. If… she was in the past… Could she change it? Maybe she could find a way to keep Auron from being killed by Yunalesca… This accident that had landed her in the past could be her golden opportunity to save Auron! Yes, she would take advantage of the situation. Even if it meant that things would get a little screwed up in the future, if it meant saving Auron so she could be with him…  
  
And despite the glorious ideas and plans that began to formulate in her head, Rikku was soon overcome by her drowsiness and drifted into a peaceful sleep.  
  
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A/N: Oi, these chapters just keep gettin' longer! Sorry if that ended sort of abruptly. Eh, I tried my best to keep everyone in character. I know Auron seems a bit different, but he's younger and not as wise as he is later, right? Pleeeeease review, and thank you so much to those who reviewed my first two chapters! It means so much to me! I'll try to get the next chapter out soon. 


	4. Stranger

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Chapter 4- Stranger  
  
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It took a minute for Rikku to remember where she was when she awoke the next morning- and when she did she squeezed her eyes shut. She was stuck. In the past… But she was with Auron! Then excitement washed over her as she remembered her plan to change Auron's past… Not that it was much of a plan at the moment. All she had really decided for certain was that she'd continue to pretend to have partially lost her memory due to Sin's toxin, and take as long as she wanted to 'recover', so that she could gain their trust. After that, Rikku hadn't decided quite yet…  
  
Rikku stretched and sat up in her bed. She felt much better than she had the day before, although she was still a bit sore. Funny, she would have thought she'd be in a lot worse shape, being electrified the way she had. That machine… Why had she never heard about it before? Who invented it? What kind of ship was this 'Highwind'? How come it sent her to this particular point in time? Many questions flooded her head, but she knew that the answers to them would have to go unanswered as long as she remained in the past.  
  
It was still rather early in the morning, for the room was still dark, and the stars had not quite faded from the brightening sky outside her window. She pulled back the sheets and got out of bed.  
  
It was then that she realized she wasn't wearing her own clothes. A long red robe replaced her pink tank top and green shorts. Her diving gear was also nowhere to be seen. She must have still been soaked from the water. She bit her lower lip. She didn't really like the fact that someone had undressed and re-dressed her while she was unconscious… even if it *was* Auron.  
  
Auron… Where was he now? This was his home she was in, wasn't it? She walked over to the door of the bedroom and opened it quietly. She found herself in a small living room. It was pretty bare, a rug, an assortment of weapons, mainly swords, on a rack in the corner, a table, a fireplace and a chair…. That contained the sleeping Auron.  
  
He was sprawled out in a rather uncomfortable looking position. He was slouched to the side, and his head was drooping tentatively on his shoulder. How he could fall asleep in such a small chair to begin with, Rikku would never know. She than understood that she must have been sleeping in his bed, and he'd taken to sleeping on the only other piece of furniture he had, aside from the table. She laughed suddenly then; he was always so conservative.  
  
The sound caused the young monk to stir, and he lifted his head suddenly awake and alert at the presence before him. He looked at her darkly for a moment, but upon recognizing her, his expression relaxed, although he still regarded her coldly.  
  
He straightened out in his chair, grimacing. Apparently he felt as uncomfortable as he looked. "What is it?" He grunted.  
  
"Well 'good morning' to you too." Rikku replied sarcastically. "Are you always this grouchy in the morning?"  
  
She ignored the glare that followed and waited for his reply. "Is there something that you need?" He asked again, apparently believing that rephrasing his question would improve the answer.  
  
"Look, I'm so sorry to interrupt your beauty nap, but I'd like to know what you did with my clothes." She replied, and regretted saying it. She was only playing around, but she knew that Auron didn't take comments like that with the greatest humour…  
  
And as she expected, his eyes flashed with anger and he stood up, his imposing form towering over her. "You ungrateful heathen, you're lucky I didn't leave you out to die on that shore." His voice was low and even, but the words were harsh.  
  
Rikku, however, was not phased by Auron's retort. "You wouldn't leave me to die anymore than you would vandalize the statues in a temple of Yevon." It was too late when the thought occurred to her that she should probably not show how much she knew about him by making such comments, as they would inevitably be misinterpreted as insolence.  
  
However, if this angered him further, he hid it well. His reply came just as sharply as the first. "You are much too presumptuous for an Al Bhed in Yevon territory. And you have no idea of what I am and am not capable of. You had better take care to use more respect when talking to a monk."  
  
Rikku decided it would be best to leave it at that. "My clothes?"  
  
Without breaking his relentless glare, he pointed towards the fireplace. Turning, she saw her clothes folded in a pile in front of the fireplace, her diving suit laid out beside it.  
  
Without a word, Rikku gathered up her clothes and returned to the bedroom to change. When she came out again, Auron was pulling on his long crimson coat.  
  
"Heading out?" She asked. She was now starting to feel a little guilty about provoking Auron the way she had, and decided to be more agreeable from now on.  
  
"Braska will be waiting for us at the temple." He said simply, without looking at her.  
  
She nodded and the two headed out, and she followed him. It was much brighter out now, and there was a cool breeze coming from the ocean. The city was very large, and the streets were crowded. She kept her eyes lowered and tried to stick as close to Auron as she could. She'd only ever been in Bevelle a few times in her life, and was still unable to find her way around.  
  
They walked in complete silence for the first five minutes, Auron continuing forward without looking at her, his face as stern as ever. It was hard to tell if he were still angry.  
  
"I'm sorry." She blurted out suddenly.  
  
Auron's step faltered. "What?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Auron, for being so ungrateful… I know how you feel about Al Bhed, and their machina, and that it's hard for you to be so hospitable to someone against your beliefs…" She was looking down at her feet. She wasn't sure if he was going to accept her apology or not. The older Auron would grunt and say nothing, but she'd know that he'd forgiven her. She's not sure how this younger version of him would respond.  
  
Auron looked at her for a moment, his face neutral, as always. Finally he gave a curt nod, and returned his gaze towards their destination. She sighed a breath of relief. She had gotten off on the wrong foot with Auron, and she didn't want him to dislike her. This was, in actuality, their first meeting, even if she already knew him from years later, he was still getting to know her.  
  
"I only hope," She continued after a moment, "That one day you will see the Al Bhed in a brighter light… And that… you will come to know me as a person, and not just an Al Bhed." Her voice broke then, and she stopped talking.  
  
Auron regarded her briefly as she said this, but continued walking without replying.  
  
All she could think about the rest of the way there, was how Auron had gazed into her eyes when she had first met him in the future. There had been no preconceived judgement of her. He had been willing to accept her for who she was. At some times, he had looked after her as though he were her Guardian, and not Yuna's. He had known her, and had understood her from the moment she'd become a Guardian. This young Auron seemed nothing like that…  
  
It killed her, to walk side by side with the man she was in love with, and not be able to voice how much she had missed him, and what tragedies were in store for him should things continue as they did. No, this Auron did not know her at all.  
  
She was just a stranger to him.  
  
They had reached the entrance of the temple, but Auron stopped walking and Rikku turned back to see why he had stopped. She looked up to find him staring at her, with an expression that she hadn't seen on his face before. It was then she realized that he was staring at her because a single tear had formed in her spiralled eye, and was trickling down her cheek.  
  
She hastily wiped the tear away, turning from the young man so as not to be exposed to any more of her unwelcome emotions. He wouldn't understand what was the matter with her, how could he? She just hoped he'd choose not to say anything about it, and simply continue on.  
  
She continued to keep her back to him, and anxiously waited for him to do or say something. Finally, she heard him walking, and he approached the door or the temple.  
  
His eyes met hers again, and for the first time since this escapade began, they did not regard her sternly… Rather, they seemed warm, almost compassionate.  
  
"Braska is waiting." He mumbled softly.  
  
Rikku nodded faintly, and followed him through the doors.  
  
  
  
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A/N: Okay, I promise to get some super cute, mushy, romantic stuff in here really really soon! It's really hard writing young Auron, because although he's still serious and stuff, I can't write him as wise and all-knowing as when he's older. 0_o Anyway, thank you for reading this, I hope you all likey so far. Pleeeeeease review! 


	5. Awkward Embrace

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Chapter 5 – Awkward Embrace  
  
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"Good morning Auron, Miss Rikku." Braska called from the priest's passage in the temple of Bevelle. Rikku had managed to regain her composure before following Auron into the temple, but she decided not to look at him again until she was sure she wouldn't burst into tears.  
  
"Hi Braska." Rikku replied.  
  
Auron merely nodded his head in greeting.  
  
"So, uh… What did you have in mind for helping me to recover my memory?" Rikku asked, although she was pretty sure of what the answer was.  
  
And as she had feared, Auron said, "Why, you pray to Yevon of course."  
  
Rikku turned away from Auron and rolled her eyes. He really HAD been into this ridiculous Yevon thing.  
  
Braska chuckled quietly, much to Auron's surprise. "I don't think that is our best option, in Miss Rikku's circumstance." Braska said.  
  
Rikku's eyes widened. Braska was so much more understanding than Auron. Not stiff or totally "praise be to Yevon" at all. This seemed to surprise Auron as much as it had Rikku.  
  
"Braska! Of course it is the best course of action! What are you suggesting?" He inquired, utterly confused.  
  
Braska merely looked at Rikku, as though expecting her to answer Auron's question. She tilted her head a little as she thought about what she should say. She was going to bad-mouth Yevon, but opted not to. It would accomplish nothing. Rather, it would anger Auron further, and make her seem like an ungrateful brat to Braska, who'd been so kind as to consider her feelings as an Al Bhed. The apprentice summoner must really have been married to an Al Bhed; he understood and respected them.  
  
"Well," Rikku finally started, "I think we should take a look around the area I was found. Perhaps we'll find something there that might re-jog my memory." This, Rikku felt, was a good idea. Maybe if they returned to that beach where Auron found her, she'd find someway to get back to the present… Not that she'd use it right away. Not until she'd changed Auron's future.  
  
Braska nodded. "Yes, that is what I was thinking as well."  
  
Auron said nothing, but it was obvious from the disgruntled look on his face that he did not approve.  
  
"Auron, do you think you could lead us back to where you found Rikku?" Braska asked his friend.  
  
Before Auron could reply, an elderly man approached the three of them hurriedly and began murmuring something to Braska in an urgent matter.  
  
Braska's face paled, and he wrinkled his forehead in concern. "Tell them I'll be right there." The man nodded, and left as quickly as he'd come.  
  
"What is it?" Auron asked him upon seeing the apprehensive expression on Braksa's face.  
  
"That was my neighbour who looks after Yuna while I'm training here at the temple. Yuna's fallen quite ill, she's in bed with a bad fever." Braska had already begun to move towards the door. "He called for a doctor, but she keeps calling for me in her sleep."  
  
Auron's expression now matched Braska's. "You must go to her at once."  
  
"Yes I know. I'm sorry Rikku, I must go to my little girl, you understand, don't you?" Braska apologized, upon reaching the passage's doorway.  
  
"Of course!" Rikku replied. "I'm so sorry Braska, I hope it' s nothing serious."  
  
Braska swallowed, and nodded. "Thank you, Rikku and Auron, for you concern. I guess you'll have to go on without me." He smiled weakly. "I hope you succeed in recovering some of you memory, Rikku."  
  
And that said, he left, the sound of the closing door echoing throughout the priest's passage. Auron and Rikku stood in total silence for a full minute. Would Auron still help her with Braska gone? Rikku bit her lower lip, waiting for Auron to do something.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, Auron sighed and said, "Let's go."  
  
Without another word, the two head out of the temple and out of Bevelle.  
  
******  
  
They had been walking for a good hour or so, and they were passing through the small cluster of trees that bordered the Macalania woods. Neither had said a word to each other since Braska had left them back in Bevelle.  
  
It was an awkward silence, and yet it was a silence that was becoming all too familiar to Rikku. Did Auron hate her? Was he really so different? Was he only helping her because of Braska? No, she thought. After all, Auron did help her by bringing her back to Bevelle. He could have left her there.  
  
She still had not looked him in the face in all the time they had walked. She was sure she had totally blown it with him. He'd never like her now, after how she'd insulted him this morning. She wasn't surprised that he wasn't talking to her. Even though she'd apologized, it didn't mean he'd forget.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
The comment came so abruptly and so bluntly that Rikku jumped. She finally turned her head to look at him. He wasn't looking at her, and by the look on his face, one wouldn't have thought he'd said anything at all.  
  
"Wh-… What?" Rikku stuttered, befuddled and wondering if she'd heard him correctly.  
  
"I'm… sorry." He repeated, a little more hesitantly this time.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"I didn't mean to… sound so harsh this morning." He seemed to be picking his words carefully.  
  
Rikku found herself unable to reply, and a few moments passed in silence as they continued walking. Why was he apologizing? She was the one who had been so ungrateful and sarcastic earlier. Then she realized that he must think he'd caused her to cry. In a sense, he had, but it wasn't for the reasons he thought.  
  
"This is it." He stated, changing the topic entirely.  
  
They were now beyond the trees and approaching the coast, the waves rolling almost lazily onto the shore.  
  
"Hmm…" Rikku splashed a few paces into the water, glancing around for something that might determine how she'd gotten to this particular shore. "Are you sure it's exactly this spot?"  
  
Auron arched a brow. "I'm sure."  
  
"I'm goin' in." Rikku called back, and without waiting for a reply, she dived into the water.  
  
She swam out a ways. Nothing. She was hoping to find a portal thingy, or at least some sort of evidence that she'd arrived here by the machina. But all she saw was seaweed and fish.  
  
After a few more minutes of searching in vain, a thought occurred to her; if this was the coast East of Bevelle, than she was in the same area as the 'Highwind' wreck. If the ship had been there a thousand years, then surely it would be in this time period as well. Maybe when she got zapped into the past, she had somehow managed to float to the surface and be swept ashore. That would explain why she had ended up here. She must find a way to get back to the 'Highwind' wreckage. If it got her here, it could surely get her back to the present, couldn't it?  
  
It seemed a bit of a long shot. She didn't know how the machina worked. She could zap herself even further back in time if she wasn't careful. She'd better study the machina and figure out how it works before blindly pushing buttons and hoping for the best. In the mean time, she also had to put forth her plan to save Auron.  
  
First things first. She'd have to find a boat to get her far enough out into the ocean so she could go looking for the wreckage again. On these thoughts, she decided to resurface.  
  
Auron had vague etchings of surprise and concern on his face as Rikku broke through the surface and made her way back to the shore.  
  
"You are quite the fish." Auron said finally. "You'd been gone for several minutes, I was starting to wonder."  
  
"No need to worry, I'm a great swimmer!" Rikku chirped.  
  
"Are you a blitzer?" Auron asked, somewhat sceptically.  
  
Rikku laughed lightly. "Nah, but most of us Al Bhed can swim pretty good, we do a lot of underwater excavating so we have to be able to hold our breath for a long time, you know?"  
  
"I see." Auron said simply, and then continued. "What were you doing anyway? What did you expect to find?"  
  
"Erm…" Rikku stumbled for a plausible answer. "I guess… I was lookin' for some evidence of a shipwreck or something." She replied, pleased with the efficiency of her answer. Then she got an idea. "Auron, I think I'm starting to remember something… I'm pretty sure I was on a ship when I got to close to Sin… But if that's the case than the ship was most certainly destroyed. If we find it, maybe the rest of my memory will return."  
  
Auron cocked a brow doubtfully. "What are you suggesting? We rent a boat and go blindly looking for a ship that sank Yevon knows where?"  
  
"Not blindly." Rikku replied, and held up her wrist with the navigation system locked around it. "See this? It's a portable navigation unit. It's extremely durable and waterproof, and it still works. We can use this to pinpoint where I was the last time I used it. Nifty, huh?"  
  
Auron, however, did not look impressed. "That… is a machina?"  
  
"Uhhhh…"  
  
"Forget it. I don't know why I'm helping an Al Bhed in the first place. You can go find your machina ship with your machina navigators. But I will not partake in such sacrilegious acts." He turned, an implication that he was ready to head back to Bevelle. But Rikku wasn't going to give up.  
  
"It's not a dangerous machina!" She persisted. "Very safe. I'm sure your Yevon won't mind if we use it!"  
  
"No."  
  
Auron had begun walking, not even looking back at Rikku as she pleaded. She ran ahead of him and blocked his path, her spiral green eyes begging him to listen. Auron stopped, and impatiently glared at the girl, as though daring her to speak her mind.  
  
"Please…" She suddenly felt like she was back on the Thunder Plains, those three years ago, begging the same man for a few minutes of rest out of the storm. If Auron refused to help her, she'd be as lost as she had been in that wretched storm. She didn't know her way around these parts, and no one else in Bevelle would help an Al Bhed. Her eyes filled with genuine tears, and she continued her plea with total serenity. "If I don't find that ship I may never get back to…er… I may never get back my memory… Please Auron… You're really the only one who can help me, now that Braska's unable to."  
  
He stared at her for a long time, his features expressionless, and he seemed to be considering Rikku's request. He let out a soft sigh.  
  
He nodded vaguely. "Very well." He mumbled, almost inaudibly.  
  
"Thank you… I do appreciate it Auron…" She whispered.  
  
He just nodded, as though agreeing to help her had condemned him. She smiled. His face was so serious. His eyebrows seemed to be forever slanted in that cynical expression. Some things never seemed to change about him.  
  
A lump formed in her throat as she continued to stare unreservedly at the young man before her. She couldn't suppress it any longer…  
  
Acting before she could think better of it, she threw herself into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Too shocked to protest immediately, Auron's eyes widened in surprise as the girl began to tremble in his arms.  
  
They stood there for a good minute, Rikku weeping softly, clinging to Auron, while he simply stood there in bewilderment, neither protesting nor reciprocating her embrace. Finally, Auron touched her arm gently, a gesture that did not imply he was returning her embrace, or that he was trying to push her away. He simply touched her, not certain himself of what he meant by it.  
  
The motion did, however, bring Rikku to her senses, and she pulled away from Auron as quickly as she'd thrown herself into him. Without pausing to look at his face, she turned, and quickly wiped her eyes dry of the tears, then began walking.  
  
"Let's go." She said softly, her voice still wavering with an emotion that Auron could not label.  
  
Auron shook his head once, before starting after Rikku, his eyes, for once, depicting puzzlement instead of cynicism.  
  
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A/N: Okay, so that didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted it to, but what can you do. Sorry if it isn't all mushy and stuff yet, but this fic does have a plot, so I have to accommodate for both. It'll get mushier soon!  
  
Please please please please please review! 


	6. Leviathan

A/N: First of all, I would like to sincerely thank all of you who gave me such wonderful reviews on my story. It inspires me! I put up a chapter, and think 'ah, this story's crap.' But then I read the reviews and see that some of you actually like it! So again, thank you to all who praised my story, it really means a lot! And now for chapter six.  
  
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Chapter Six – Leviathan  
  
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The strong breeze carried Rikku and Auron's sailboat at a fairly steady speed, and the two reached the destination indicated by Rikku's navigator by late afternoon. They had remained silent for the duration of the trip, both somewhat embarrassed of Rikku's actions that morning.  
  
Auron brought down the sail, causing the boat to slow down considerably. "So… you're sure that this is it?" He asked hesitantly.  
  
Rikku looked down at her navigational unit. "Um… Yeah, I'm pretty sure… Good thing that it was so close to shore, we'd have a job finding a ship if it was much farther out to see…" Rikku's words came rushed and she fumbled as she tried in vain to pull up the zipper on the back of her wetsuit.  
  
Auron, upon seeing the amount of difficulty Rikku was having with the zipper, cleared his throat as he stood up to aid her. "Here… Let me get it."  
  
Auron reached down to where the zipper started at her tailbone. The tab was tucked inside of the suit, and Auron hesitantly slid in a finger and pulled it out. Never did Rikku think that such a simple action could be so sensual. Rikku tried very hard not to shake as he slowly did up the zipper, fastening the hook at the top. She felt Auron lightly rest his hand on her shoulder. They stood in silence, neither one moving.  
  
"There…" Auron breathed finally, his arms falling to his sides.  
  
"Th-thanks…" Rikku replied, unsteadily positioning her goggles over her eyes.  
  
"How long are you going to be?" Auron asked before Rikku had the chance to dive in.  
  
She slipped into the water. "Uh… I should be an hour or so…" Rikku mumbled.  
  
"Rikku." Auron's voice halted her before she could plunge into the ocean's depths below. She turned to face him, hesitantly.  
  
"Be careful…" He murmured, shifting his gaze from hers.  
  
Rikku nodded, even though he was not looking at her, and dove beneath the water's surface.  
  
She swam swiftly, the frigid water around her already penetrating the insulation of her wetsuit. She got there in much less time than it had taken her the first time, as now she knew exactly where she was going. Sure enough, in twenty minutes she reached the 'Highwind' wreckage, and it looked just the same as it had before.  
  
She found the breach in the hull where she had slipped in before and swam through, finding herself once again, on the ship's bridge. Everything looked exactly as it had before. She made her way down the corridors and into the room with the large mysterious machina that had transferred her to this time. She was making good time. She still had half an hour left before she was supposed to meet up with Auron again. Hopefully she'd be able to gather some kind of information on how the machina worked.  
  
She swam up to the screen that she had before, and was shocked to see that it wasn't functioning. At all. The screen was blank, and the buttons weren't lit. She was hesitant to push any keys as she had before, but she was perplexed at the fact that the monitor wasn't working. How could that be? How could it be working, over a decade later, and be totally non- functional now, if no one had been here for a thousand years?  
  
She grit her teeth and tapped a button, shutting her eyes tight in fear of what might happen. But the seconds passed, and nothing occurred. She opened her eyes. The screen was still dead, the buttons still unlit. No sound from the machina, no lightning emanating from the pillars… Nothing.  
  
Rikku was struck by fear as the question formed in her head. 'Am I stranded here?!?!' She struggled to calm herself, knowing that the more she panicked, the more air she was wasting as she held her breath.  
  
But why??? Why was it working in the future, but not in the past, if it had been undisturbed all this time? So… Perhaps someone HAD found it… Perhaps someone already found the 'Highwind', a few years from now, and repaired the main systems. She shook her head. It just didn't make sense. What was she going to do?  
  
She'd have to fix it. It was the only way. Rikku was glad to have learnt so much about machina from her father, but she wasn't sure if she could work with machinery this complex…and underwater no less. This was plan was becoming quite dangerous.  
  
Rikku fidgeted with the screen and the panels around it. Turning to the side, she could see a panel with a little arrow on it. Pulling the panel in the direction of the arrow, the sheet of metal slid free. She found an object protruding from the slot revealed there. She grasped hold of it, and slid it out of the slot. It was a fairly long, flat-shaped object. It looked something like a large computer chip. She'd never seen anything so complex looking. Several wires snaked out of it in all directions, binding it to the inside, though most of them seemed to connect to the screen monitor and the key panel. Perhaps this was the main system that needed to be fixed?  
  
She unfastened the wires rather easily from the chip, and slid it into one of the pockets on her wetsuit. She'd be able to study it better outside of the ocean. She began to swim back out towards the bridge.  
  
Now she was running behind. Auron might be getting impatient waiting for her. She hastily manoeuvred out of the bridge's hull, and swam towards the surface.  
  
As she swam, she could have sworn she felt a tremor throughout the water, and some kind of eerie sound. She spun around, but saw nothing but schools of fish and the 'Highwind' wreck below her. She paused a moment longer, but then continued upwards.  
  
She took a grateful gasp of air when she broke through the surface. She pushed up her goggles and looked around for the sailboat. She found it, some ten yards away from her position, and began to swim towards it. Auron was facing the other way, and had apparently, not seen her resurface.  
  
"Auron!" She called to him.  
  
He whirled around, and for a split second, she saw his face go from surprise to relief before he regained his indifferent expression.  
  
"You were gone for an hour and twenty minutes!" He chided sternly.  
  
"I know, I'm sorry." Rikku apologized as she grasped onto the edge of the sailboat, looking up at him.  
  
He continued to glare down at her as though she'd personally insulted Yevon himself. She brushed her bangs back and giggled.  
  
"You weren't worried about little old me, were you?" She teased. Then she regretted it. The tension from this morning still hadn't quite dissipated. She shifted moved her gaze away from his.  
  
"Did you find anything?" He asked after a moment, dropping the previous topic.  
  
"Hua?… Oh… uh… No, no I didn't find anything really, but we can always try again later right?" She decided it would be best to keep her finding of the machina chip to herself. She didn't want to have to make up an explanation for it.  
  
"…Right…" Auron replied. He then kneeled down, for Rikku was still in the water clutching to the side of the boat. "Rikku…" He continued.  
  
"Erm… yeah?" Rikku, despite her resistance, succumbed her eyes to his dark, piercing gaze.  
  
Auron was silent for a moment, as though trying to formulate the right words. "Rikku… Why… did you… cry…this morning, at the temple, and at the shore?"  
  
Rikku tried very hard to tear her eyes away from his, but she was hopelessly bound to them at this moment. It took every inch of her will power to battle off the tears that threatened to mist her vision. She opened her mouth, but couldn't speak coherently.  
  
Her voice trembled. "I…Auron… I'm-"  
  
"Look out!!!" Auron exclaimed, cutting her off, his face contorted as he stared, horrified at something behind her.  
  
Before Rikku could ask what was going on, he took hold of her, and pulled her almost effortlessly out of the water, and threw her onto the boat, covering her body with his own.  
  
Rikku shrieked as she saw a great serpent's head coming from the sea, strike the side of the boat where Rikku had been only seconds earlier. Frustrated from having missed Rikku, who was obviously the creature's target, it reared its head and wailed an unearthly high-pitched scream.  
  
"Stay down!" Auron yelled as he stood up, unsheathing his massive sword and spinning around to confront the horrid thing.  
  
Rikku, however, was already mixing together deadly substances that she always carried with her for battles, preparing a concoction that she hoped could fend the serpent off with.  
  
Unfortunately, the sea snake had the upper hand. It thrashed what must have been its tail against the side of the boat, opposite to where it's head was. The small sailboat rocked violently, and the two lost their balance, and Rikku found herself falling off the end of the boat, with nothing to grab onto for support.  
  
But something grabbed onto her.  
  
Auron, who had abandoned his defences against the monster, dropped his sword and took a firm hold of Rikku's arm. She grabbed onto him with her other arm, and he pulled her back onto to boat.  
  
The snake didn't waste any time. Spotting the defenceless pair, it swung its tail at them, knocking Auron hard, rendering him unconscious. It then wrapped its unsightly tail around him, and pulled him swiftly towards the sea. Its head disappeared beneath the surface, and it was evident that the monster was attempting to escape- with Auron!  
  
Rikku lunged desperately for the unconscious man being dragged across the small boat, but fell short of his coat by a mere inch. He and the snake disappeared from view as the creature hauled him off the boat and into the depths of the ocean.  
  
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A/N: There you have it, my feeble attempt at a cliffhanger. *Grin*. What do you think so far? Good? Boring? Lame? Let me know! Again, thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing this so far; I really really really really appreciate it! ^_^ 


	7. LifeSaving Kiss

A/N: Ooooh, thank you so much for the reviews! They make me so happy! ^_^ Eh, I know the last update was kinda late, and I promise to try and get chapters out more quickly. So hard you know, with school and work…argh…well, you get the picture. Anyway, thanks again to those who are continuing to read my story!  
  
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Chapter Seven – Life-Saving Kiss  
  
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Rikku didn't even bother putting her goggles back on as she plunged into the icy depths of the ocean in a desperate attempt to catch up with the serpent and free Auron. She couldn't even feel the freezing cold as it bit her eyes when she opened them underwater; she was in too much a panic about finding the unconscious young monk.  
  
Firing herself downwards, Rikku looked around frantically for a sign of either Auron or the gigantic sea snake. She saw its tail shrinking into the darkness below her, Auron still being helplessly pulled by it. She sped after it with more speed than the fastest pro Blitzball player.  
  
Rikku wasn't sure how well Auron could swim, even had he been awake, but she knew for a fact that he wouldn't last long underwater with the terrible serpent either way. What…WAS that thing anyway? How come she didn't see it before? What was it going to do to Auron? She shuddered as she thought of the last question. She didn't want to have to find out.  
  
She tailed it all the way to a hole between two very large rocks. The fiend slipped through with little difficulty, and Rikku presumed that the hole led to it's dwelling. She looked at the narrow hole doubtfully. It was even smaller than the ones she'd squeezed through in the 'Highwind' wreckage. Definitely unsafe to say the least… But it had gotten Auron through, who was considerably larger than Rikku, therefore she should fit through fine. Besides, she didn't have a choice. Auron's life was in danger and she had to save him at all costs…  
  
She squirmed her way through the opening to find her self in a small, equally narrow passage. She cringed inwardly. Small tunnels underwater were NOT fun. Nonetheless, she sifted through the tunnel as swiftly as she could manage, and with surprisingly little difficulty. The tunnel seemed to go on forever, and she could no longer see the creature or Auron, as the tunnel twisted at before her.  
  
Just when she though that she'd never reach the end of the tunnel, the space widened abruptly into a large cavern. She looked around anxiously and found the fiend coiled up to one side of the cavern wall- with Auron squirming furiously in the snake's clenches.  
  
Rikku was both surprised and relieved to find him alive, and conscious no less. But how was he still able to hold his breath? Wasn't he unconscious? She didn't care anymore; she just wanted to get him out of there.  
  
Auron spotted Rikku streaking towards him and his captor. His eyes widened in surprise and he stopped squirming temporarily. It was obvious from the look on his face that he was running out of air.  
  
Upon seeing Rikku, the giant snake let out a disconcerting wail, one that Rikku could hear quite clearly, even under water. It bared its long fangs, evidently insulted by Rikku's intrusion, and recoiled its aqua colored body, preparing to lunge for her.  
  
Rikku was agile enough underwater to evade the serpent's blow, and it's bared fangs missed her as she sped out of the way. As it was recovering from it's avoided attack, Rikku took the opportunity to hurl one of her grenades at him. This stunned the fiend. Dazed, it loosened it's grip on Auron, who was now changing alarming shades of color, for lack of oxygen.  
  
Rikku sped towards Auron with tunnel vision and was less than a yard away from him when the snake intercepted her as he moved his head between her and the suffocating Auron.  
  
'Hold on Auron…' Rikku thought frantically as the formidable fiend lunged at her yet again.  
  
Instead of dodging the attack, Rikku hurled another grenade directly at the monster's face. It recoiled in pain and shock, letting out another hellish screech; for this grenade had managed to blind it.  
  
Now that the goliath serpent was severely handicapped, it was unable to intervene as Rikku went to rescue Auron. She went behind him, flung her arms around his waist, and swam as fast as she could manage with him towards the hole.  
  
'He's not going to make it.' Rikku's mind told her as they reached the tunnel. The snake was not perusing them, too twisted in miserable pain and rage. She glanced at Auron apprehensively. What could she do? Of course…  
  
She turned Auron around so that he was facing her. He looked at her demurely, obviously on the brink of unconsciousness. She smiled reassuringly at him. Brushing the stray strands of hair out of his eyes, she leaned in and pressed her mouth to his.  
  
He was too weak to respond of course, and it was a minute before he realized what she was doing. She breathed some of her stored oxygen into his mouth, slowly, but effectively filling Auron's lungs with the oxygen they so desperately needed. She took his face in her hands, secretly savouring the feel of his smooth lips against hers. The frigid water and the fuming snake were forgotten. Only she and Auron existed at this moment.  
  
After a few more seconds, she withdrew reluctantly, taking a brief moment to look into his chocolate brown eyes. They regarded her with something that Rikku could not quite identify. Gratefulness? Surprise? Or even…  
  
She turned away, signalling for him to grab onto her ankles so that she could lead him through the tunnel. His hands closed lightly around her ankles, and she inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Auron was all right…  
  
They made it to the surface without Auron needing another boost of oxygen, something that surprised Rikku. They broke through the surface, both gasping greedily for air. Rikku once again put her arms around his waist as she hauled him towards the sailboat, which was thankfully still in the general area where it had been abandoned.  
  
Neither said anything for a while as they set sail back for the shore, both heaving too greatly to say anything more than a couple words at a time. Rikku insisted that Auron lay down, and so he did, since he was too drained to protest. Rikku had been put through much strain as well, since she had to help Auron hold his breath, as well as hold her own.  
  
Finally, sometime after when the two had finally slowed their breathing, Rikku looked down at him, tears in her eyes, and she touched his face lightly.  
  
"You're all right… I'm so glad… so glad you're all right." Rikku's voice trembled with emotion, but she didn't care. That had come much too close.  
  
Auron grinned weakly. "Not a blitzer, huh?"  
  
Rikku chuckled softly. "You're not bad at holding your breath either, you know. You did very well to say you don't blitz, or spend your time excavating underwater."  
  
"Thank Yevon I didn't fall totally unconscious. I was alert enough to take in some air before I went under. Although…" Auron trailed off, and Rikku knew he had been about to bring up how she transferred some of her oxygen to him.  
  
She tried not to blush. What if he knew she had been indulging in the act more than what was proper? She sneaked a glance at him, and saw that same indescribable gaze as she'd seen before in the underwater cavern.  
  
She looked away again, staring out at the vast ocean. The waves were so calm despite the turmoil that had been occurring beneath. She nervously looked over the edge of the boat for the sea snake. Seeing nothing, she sighed and felt confident that the sightless serpent would not pursue them any further. She tilted her head back towards the sky as the recent events played out in her mind.  
  
It was her fault. She had dragged him all the way out here, only to find some stupid chip that she didn't even know if she could fix. Who cares if she never got home to her time? Auron almost died. That would have had a bigger effect on the timeline than anything that she might have affected. Maybe she was endangering Auron with her very presence. She was trying to deter Auron's death, not hasten it! She knew that Auron didn't blame her for what happened… But he should.  
  
She held her head remorsefully as she contemplated these thoughts. After some time, Auron's deep voice interrupted her thoughts.  
  
"Rikku?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"…Thank you."  
  
Startled by the two simple words, she locked eyes with his. Unable to reply to his gratitude, they both remained silent for the duration of the trip back to shore.  
  
  
  
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A/N: I hope I didn't end this chapter too abruptly. Anyway, the sparks are startin' to fly and I'm sure they'll confront each other with their feelings quite soon. ^.~  
  
Reviews are nice. E-mails are nice. Feedback in general is nice. Thanks! 


	8. Empty Chair

A/N: Sorry the update took so long, I've been busy because of the Easter weekend and everything. Also, I'm sort of having a writer's block crisis. 0_o  
  
  
  
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Chapter Eight – Empty Chair  
  
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Rikku poked apathetically at the pocket-sized machina she'd salvaged from the 'Highwind'. She'd been trying to figure out how it worked ever since they'd gotten back to Auron's house in Bevelle, but after three hours of doing virtually nothing but stare at it, she realized glumly that she was getting nowhere. The fact that her mind was preoccupied with guilt and self-loathing didn't help either.  
  
'It's all my fault… Auron almost *died*…' The same thought ran through her head over and over as she stared blankly at the confounding machina lying inertly on the bedside table before her. She sighed and let her head fall with a clunk against the wooden surface. This was hopeless. This machina was nothing but a piece of junk and she had accomplished nothing but seriously endanger Auron's life. She'd never get home to the present. She'd never save Auron. It was utterly and totally hopeless.  
  
As Rikku was contemplating jumping out a high window, she heard a soft knock on the bedroom door. She sat up, confused and a little annoyed. She had told Auron that she was turning in early, but here he was knocking on her door anyway. She quickly slid the stubborn machina into her back pocket and ran a hand through her hair, which she had let down out of her usual spunky style.  
  
"Come in." Rikku said, rather dispirited.  
  
Auron entered the room, quietly closing the door behind him. She deliberately avoided his eyes as he walked up to her and sat next to her on the bed, not speaking a word.  
  
"Yes Auron, what is it?" She mumbled, still avoiding his gaze.  
  
Auron was slow to reply. "I… saw your lights on."  
  
Rikku did not reply, and the two were silent for a moment. Rikku turned her head towards the wall, not wanting him to see her in her current state.  
  
"Rikku…" Auron's voice was pushing her over the edge.  
  
Again, Rikku did not respond. Rather, she couldn't respond, as she didn't trust her voice not the crack if she tried to speak.  
  
Auron hesitantly reached a hand under her chin. Gently, but firmly, he turned her head slowly to face him. Her eyes were downwards, refusing to look him in the face.  
  
"Rikku…" He said again, with a gentleness that Rikku never knew he had. "Look at me…"  
  
Rikku then began to shake uncontrollably at those words. Her eyes slowly trailed up to his face, and when they met his deep russet eyes her resolve crumbled, and tears splashed over her eyelids and slid down to her trembling lips.  
  
Auron's impassive mask faltered and his face unveiled emotions of uncertainty and concern. His eyes probed hers in a desperate attempt to understand what was wrong with the young woman before her.  
  
"It… It will never work! It's impossible!" Rikku exclaimed in between sobs. "I shouldn't be here, I shouldn't be here with you… I-I…I want to, but I can't, I shouldn't it's wrong, and it's my fault, all my fault!" She rambled on, her hysterical sobbing making her hard to hear.  
  
"Please… I don't understand." Auron replied, his hand sliding from her face to her arm.  
  
"You almost died because of me!" She responded, burying her face in her hands.  
  
Auron's forehead creased in disbelief. "No, Rikku, you didn't know that was going to happen anymore than I did. Things happen, and sometimes we can't do anything about it, you-"  
  
"But I can! I was supposed to! To change it, to make it better, not make it worse!!!"  
  
Auron was taken aback by this exclamation, and could not respond to Rikku's incoherency. "What do you want me to do?" Auron asked finally, his voice so soft that Rikku almost didn't hear it over her own sobbing.  
  
She looked up at him, raw emotion preventing her from saying any different. "Don't leave me…"  
  
Auron's face softened at her plea. He clenched his jaw apprehensively. This woman was making him feel things he'd never felt before, things he had deliberately tried NOT to feel. But little did Rikku know that he was just as helpless as her that moment. He couldn't have left her if he tried. Right now he just wanted to be with her, to do his best to comfort the trembling girl.  
  
He didn't understand what was happening to him. All he knew is that he had to be here for Rikku right now… He nodded once, and slipped his arms hesitantly around her waist. Slowly, he guided her closer, he head leaning willingly into his chest. He let his chin rest on the top of her head, and he held her like that. He was a little uneasy at first, as he had never been this close to a female before. It was strange… but it was nice.  
  
Rikku's breathing slowed and her tears stopped as she was lulled by the steady beating of his heart. She closed her eyes, loosing herself to the comforting sound. He was here. Right now. And that was all that mattered.  
  
After a long time, Auron noticed that Rikku was leaning heavier against him. Her breathing was slow and rhythmic, and he realised that she had fallen asleep. He was going to lean her down on the bed, but then her heart-wrenching plea for him not to leave her came back to him.  
  
Careful not to wake her up, Auron lowered himself onto the bed, letting Rikku rest comfortably on top of him. He briefly remembered that earlier he had been calling her a heathen and an ungrateful brat… Maybe he was wrong about her. Maybe Rikku was different… Or maybe…  
  
Maybe the Al Bhed aren't as bad as he had been taught.  
  
His eyelids drooped with fatigue, and he succumbed as sleep overtook him. And thus, that night Auron did not sleep in the living room chair.  
  
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A/N: Okay, so it was a tad shorter than usual, but cute, don't you think? Sorry, I'll try to get the chapters out faster. As always, Reviews are very much appreciated. 


	9. Message

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Chapter Nine – Message  
  
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"Auron…" Auron heard a soft masculine voice. "Auron…Hey, wake up."  
  
Auron emitted a low groan and groggily opened an eye. It was bright. His eyes took a minute to focus to the bright light of the morning sun coming through his bedroom window. He felt as though there were some sort of a weight on top of him.  
  
The first thing he saw was… blonde hair.  
  
He drowsily brushed the soft hair out of his eyes to see Braska looking down at him with a curious smile on his face.  
  
"Good morning, my friend." Braska said, clearly trying not to break into laughter.  
  
'What is he grinning about?' Auron thought groggily. Slowly he became aware of the situation. Blonde hair… the weight… Rikku!  
  
He was lying on his bed with his arms around Rikku's shoulders. She was laying on her stomach on top of him, her arms tucked beneath her as she slept snugly with her head beneath his chin, her soft, unbound hair now spread across his broad chest.  
  
He took a deep breath, trying to remain cool about the situation. He knew Braska was going to want an explanation. What was he going to tell him?  
  
Nothing. He didn't have to tell him a thing.  
  
"How is Yuna, is she alright?" He asked, trying to avoid the topic concerning the girl atop of him.  
  
Braska's smiled softly. "She's going to be alright. She has a high fever, but the doctor said she'd be all right in a few days. I'm actually not going to training today, I have to get back home to look after her. I only came out to go to the temple mass and to come see you."  
  
"I'm very glad to hear it's nothing serious." Auron replied, genuinely. He'd never liked children, but Yuna was a special child. She was very intelligent for her age, and she reminded Auron very much of her father.  
  
"I came by to see what was going on with you." Braska began, getting to the point of his visit. "You missed the temple mass today. The priest was really quite concerned. I figured it was because of something like this, so I covered up for you. Told him you were ill, so you needn't bother showing up today. Just don't make a habit of neglecting your duties as a monk." He finished with a smile.  
  
Auron grunted in frustration. "I missed it? Oh Yevon…" He sat up slowly, sliding Rikku gently onto the mattress beside him. He had never in his life slept through the weekly gathering at the temple. Never. Then again, he'd never spent the night with a hysterical young woman in his arms either.  
  
"Wait a minute," Auron continued after a second, "What do you mean, 'because of something like this'?"  
  
Braska did not reply, but merely smiled and nodded towards Rikku. "How is she?"  
  
Auron stood up walked into the other room and Braska followed him. The young monk retrieved his red coat from the chair by the fireplace and slipped it on.  
  
"We were unable to find anything that could help her with her memory." Auron replied finally, deciding to omit the close call they had with the Leviathan. "I think she's still in shock over the whole situation. She was…" He sentence trailed into silence.  
  
"She was what?" Braska asked quietly.  
  
Auron didn't reply and continued to stare vacantly at the fireplace. He wasn't about to tell him about Rikku's distraught behaviour from last night. He didn't know why Rikku had been so upset, but it was obviously not something to be taken lightly. He wished he knew what was wrong, and he wanted to confide in his friend, but felt that it wasn't his place to talk to Braska about it without her consent. After a minute he bowed his head, deep in thought, and almost forgot about Braska's presence.  
  
"Auron…" The apprentice summoner placed a hand on Auron's shoulder. "Are… Are you alright?"  
  
Auron jerked his head up. "Of course I am alright!" He replied defensively.  
  
"Okay, okay…" Braska stepped back, a little stunned by Auron's sharpness. "It's just… I haven't seen you like this before. It's Rikku isn't it?"  
  
Auron turned away from his friend. "That girl… Braska, I can't explain it… I just… I…I-"  
  
"Care about her." Braska finished for him.  
  
Auron turned his head towards him, forehead furrowed and eyes glaring darkly at Braska, as though he resented the man's words. However, the young monk said nothing. Instead, he walked back to the doorway of the bedroom observed the Al Bhed woman lying fast asleep in his bed.  
  
"I… have to get back to Yuna now." Braska said softly, after some time.  
  
Auron nodded, but didn't turn around. "All right Braska… Thanks for… covering for me."  
  
Braska smiled at his back. "What are friends for?"  
  
Auron heard his front door open and close, and he was once again, alone with the Al Bhed. He continued to stand there, watching her in her sleep. She was still sleeping on her front, her hands resting upon the pillow beside her face. Her long hair was still neat, as it flowed over her shoulders like a gold river. Her long eyelashes fluttered softly every now and then, as she dreamt. She was beauty incarnate.  
  
Auron straightened in the doorway. What was going on? Why was he thinking these thoughts? He was ashamed of himself, gawking so unreservedly at the girl.  
  
He sighed, and was about to go make some breakfast when Rikku sighed a soft moan and groggily opened her eyes.  
  
She smiled as her eyes focused on the tall form leaning in the doorway.  
  
"Good morning." He murmured to her, a little unsure of her emotional state from the previous night.  
  
Rikku stretched and sat up groggily. "Hey…" She smiled softly. "I… I'm sorry about last night… I was an awful mess. I'm sorry that you had to see that."  
  
Auron shook his head and opened his mouth to attest that he hadn't minded, but he couldn't find the words. Instead he sat beside her on the bed. "Are you feeling better?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah… Um… Thank you… For comforting me last night."  
  
Auron stared at her, still searching for the cause of her emotional instability. She had thanked him… For comforting her.  
  
He had comforted her.  
  
A feeling started rising in his chest, intensifying until he could no longer ignore it. For some reason, this really contented him. It pleased him to know that his feeble attempts at trying to help her had worked for her. Although the feeling was decidedly pleasant, his old defences struggled to gain control. He'd never comforted anyone before, as he had Rikku… He had never tried, never felt the need to.  
  
As Auron was preoccupied with the turmoil in his head, Rikku hesitantly slid her hand across the mattress and brushed against his fingers. Surprised, he moved his gaze to her face. She wasn't looking at him, but down on the mattress where their fingers touched.  
  
Auron hesitantly accepted the invitation, lightly sliding his hand onto hers. Upon doing so, he was rewarded by her eyes moving up to meet his. Her eyes were misted with tears, although he wasn't entirely sure why.  
  
They sat there like that in silence for a few minutes, Rikku revelling in the moment. She wished that they could sit there forever, and all too soon Auron sighed and stood up, his hand leaving hers.  
  
"Let's get something to eat." He mumbled.  
  
Rikku nodded, followed him into the other room, and sat at the table.  
  
Just then, there was an urgent knock on the front door. Thinking that Braska had returned, Auron hastily moved to the door and answered it.  
  
But it wasn't Braska. It was an acolyte from the temple.  
  
"Auron, monk of Yevon." The man greeted, bowing the prayer.  
  
Auron returned to gesture. "What is it?"  
  
"Sir? I was told that you were ill?"  
  
Auron stiffened. "…Yes… That is correct. I'm very ill… with a… fever." It was unfortunate that Auron was such a terrible actor.  
  
But the acolyte didn't seem to pick up on it. "I am sorry, I've heard that it's been going around. Pray to Yevon, my brother, and I'm sure he will heal you in no time." Again the man did "the prayer" of Yevon. When he straightened again, he saw Rikku sitting at the table behind Auron. "Who is that? I was sure you lived alone."  
  
"I do…" Auron started, and then realized what it must have looked like. He racked his brain for an explanation for Rikku, but she beat him to it.  
  
"I'm his nurse." Rikku stated, getting up out of the chair and making her way to Auron's side. "And I must say, the nippy morning air is not good for his health at all, I insist that you hurry up with you business so Auron can go back to bed." She bit her lower lip. She knew she didn't look anything like a nurse, with her worn clothes, and loose hair.  
  
Fortunately, the acolyte was rather dim-witted and accepted this instantly. "Oh, I am sorry miss." Once again he bowed. "I'll make this quick. The High priest of Bevelle has summoned you. You are expected to report to him as soon as you have regained you health."  
  
"Did he say what it was for?" Auron asked. He was a little surprised by the message.  
  
"No sir, but he said it was an important matter, and to go to him soon. Tomorrow, if your health allows it." He replied.  
  
Auron nodded. "Very well. Please tell the High Priest that I shall meet with him tomorrow."  
  
"Yes sir. Goodbye, and may you regain your health quickly. Praise be to Yevon." And with one last bow, the daft acolyte left with Auron's message.  
  
"I wonder what the Priest wants…" Rikku stated as Auron closed the door.  
  
Auron's face was contorted with concern. "I hope it's nothing serious. When the High Priest sends a messenger to request your presence as soon as possible, it's usually quite important."  
  
"Well, it can't be anything too serious, right? I mean, you haven't done anything to anyone, right?" Rikku asked, trying to lessen the urgency of the message.  
  
Auron did not reply, but continued to frown as he thought.  
  
Rikku touched his arm lightly. "Hey, lighten up, I'm sure it isn't that serious. I mean, shouldn't it be an honour or something? Eh… Hey, how about I get you breakfast?"  
  
Auron nodded vaguely, and even as Rikku bustled around getting together some food, chattering lightly, his thoughts still lingered on what the High Priest of Bevelle would want with him.  
  
He sighed and sat down at the table. He'd just have to wait until tomorrow to find out.  
  
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A/N: Eh, sorry for the delay again, I've been pretty busy, despite the Easter holidays. I hope this wasn't too boring, but I have to get the story movin' you know? Erm, and if there's lots of typos, I'm sorry, I didn't have time to proof read it. Thanks for reading, please review to let me know how you like it! 


	10. Braska's Visit

A/N: Whoa, I bet ya'll gave up on me updatin' this thing huh? I'm really sorry guys, I've had a really bad case of writer's block, and nothing I do makes it go away! T_T It's not so much that I don't know where I want to story to go, I just don't know how to get it there. lol. Anyway, enough of my rambling, on with chapter ten.  
  
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Chapter Ten – Braska's Visit  
  
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When Rikku emerged from the bedroom the next morning, she found Auron sombrely pulling on his long red coat. As he had told the messenger, he was going to head over to the temple to see why the High Priest had summoned him.  
  
Rikku still could not really understand why he was so concerned. He had spent the entire day brooding about it, and eventually Rikku said she was going out to investigate her situation by herself. She felt too awkward to simply sit around in his house while he sat around worrying, making no sound with the exception of a mumble to acknowledge Rikku when she said she was going into town.  
  
Of course she had no clue where to go or what to do when she was on her own. As Auron had cautioned her, she kept her eyes lowered and stayed away from crowded areas. After a frustrating afternoon of getting lost and achieving nothing but sore feet, she finally found her way back to Auron's house to find him sitting in the chair by the fireplace. He didn't even look up when she entered to see who it was.  
  
As far as she knew, he hadn't even gone to bed, for when he finally persuaded her to take his bed that night, it had been very late, and it was evident now from the circles under his eyes that he hadn't gotten much sleep, if any at all.  
  
"Auron…" She called softly to him when he opened the door, evidently about to leave without saying a word to her.  
  
He paused, but did not turn around.  
  
"Auron, what's the matter? Please tell me… What is it about the Priest that worries you so much?"  
  
Auron bowed his head. He remained silent for several seconds before he turned his head slowly to the side, regarding Rikku out of the corner of his eye. "The High Priest… Does not ask for ones presence unless he wants something of him. He gets what he wants… Always."  
  
"I don't understand. Is he really such a bad guy?" Rikku asked, taking a couple steps towards him.  
  
Auron sighed. "He's a strong leader, and a wise one," Auron informed, "but he is also a very powerful man, Rikku. Those with power, use it. I have witnessed it many times."  
  
"What makes you think he's going to ask something of you that you don't want to do?" Rikku inquired, although she had a nagging feeling that she knew of this event that was about to take place.  
  
Auron did not answer her question. Instead he said, "I will return this evening. I recommend that you don't go too far from the house. And remember what I told you about going out in public…" He droned on, but Rikku could see in his eyes that his mind was preoccupied with something else.  
  
"It's… Going to be all right." Rikku mumbled softly when he had finished.  
  
Auron stared at her a moment longer, then turned and headed through the door without another word.  
  
Rikku bowed her head as she heard the oak door shut behind him. It couldn't be, could it? Rikku vaguely remembered the old Jecht sphere she and the others had found where Braska had mentioned Auron being excommunicated from the temple because he defied the high priest by refusing to marry his daughter. Could this be that event?  
  
She sighed. There was nothing to do about it right now. She sat down at the table and once took out the strange machina chip, prodding it idly with a finger while she leaned her face on her other hand. She didn't even know where to start with this thing. She was convinced that the palm- sized machina had more wires, buttons, and fuses than the 'Highwind' itself. Even if she knew what was wrong with it, she highly doubted she'd have the equipment or the knowledge to fix it.  
  
Stupid thing. She was going to be stuck in the past forever.  
  
There was a sudden knock on the door, and Rikku fell off her chair, startled and afraid of who was at the door.  
  
"Auron? Auron??? It's me, open up!" Thank heavens, it was Braska.  
  
Rikku, jumped up and went to open the door, then paused. The machina chip. Where was it? It was no longer on the table; she must have knocked it off when she fell off the chair. She looked around desperately.  
  
"Hello? Rikku? Are you in there?"  
  
Tysh ed!  
  
Exasperated, Rikku ran to the door, praying to whoever would listen that Braska wouldn't find it before she did. She opened the door to see Braska. He wasn't in his summoning outfit, and he wore less elaborate clothing.  
  
"Hi Rikku." He said when she opened the door. "Is Auron here?"  
  
Rikku shook his head. "You just missed him, he's gone to the temple to see the High Priest. Aren't you supposed to be training?"  
  
Braska sighed. "Today's my off day. I was hoping to catch Auron before he left. Erm… May I come in?"  
  
Rikku bit her lower lip. "Uh, sure."  
  
"Thanks." Braska said, striding over the threshold without noticing Rikku's hesitant tone.  
  
"I heard rumours at that the Priest wanted to see Auron… I guess it was true then." Braska creased his forehead. "Did he tell you what it was about?"  
  
Rikku shook her head. "No. He didn't know what it was about himself. Um, Braska, let me ask you something. Why is everyone so nervous of the High Priest? What does he do to people?"  
  
But Braska wasn't paying attention. He was staring at something behind her. Rikku followed his gaze and discovered with horrific realization that Braska had found her chip.  
  
"What's this?" He asked as he picked up the small machina up from under the chair where it had fallen.  
  
Rikku's mind raced. "Erm… It's uh… It's a paperweight."  
  
Braska raised a brow. "I'm a Yevonite, but I was also married to an Al Bhed Rikku. This is a machina of some sort."  
  
Rikku scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "It's uh… a high-tech paperweight. It… locates paper…that uh… is in danger of… flying away…" Rikku drooped her head. 'Rikku you idiot!' She reprimanded herself.  
  
It was clear that Braska didn't buy any of it, not that she expected him too. "Rikku, whatever this is, you better get rid of it. Auron won't be happy if he knows that there is a forbidden machina in his house."  
  
"It's harmless!" Rikku protested.  
  
"Well, it's your decision, but you better make sure Auron doesn't find your little 'paperweight', or there'll be trouble, you can count on that." Braska smiled and handed it back to her.  
  
"You… Aren't going to cuss me out for having sacrilegious things or whatever?"  
  
"No."  
  
"You… Aren't going to tell Auron?"  
  
"…No"  
  
Rikku sighed a breath of relief. "Thank you. It means a lot Braska."  
  
"Don't mention it." Braska stared at the object for a moment. "Uh…I'm no machina expert, but doesn't it look kind of …"  
  
"Broken?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Thanks because it is…" Rikku sighed miserably. "And what's worse, I don't know how to fix it."  
  
Braska opened his mouth, but hesitated, as though trying to decide if he should say it or not. "I… know a man who might be able to fix it." He said finally, rather slowly.  
  
Rikku's eyes lit up? "What? Really?"  
  
"Yes… But I'm afraid he and I are on rather… difficult terms. You see, he was my brother in law, Cid… He never quite forgave me for marrying his sister…"  
  
Rikku's eyes widened unmistakeably. Cid? Her dad??? She looked at the machina in her hand. She knew, that if there were only one person in the world who could fix it, it would be her father. She had never taken into account that her father existed in this time period as well. But she could not see him face to face. It would complicate things too much.  
  
"So… What do we do?" Rikku asked.  
  
"Well I certainly can't take it to him." Braska commented. "But there's a family friend that could. He's always been the mediator between Cid and my family. He's also leaving for the Al Bhed Home, where Cid is, tomorrow. I could give it to him and tell him to ask Cid to fix it. Would you like me to do that?"  
  
Rikku hesitated. Could she really trust Braska to do that for her? Maybe this was a trick to confiscate the machina. She cleared the thought from her mind. Braska wasn't like that, he had married her aunt, an Al Bhed. She cleared her throat and looked up at Braska.  
  
"How long before I would get it back?" She asked finally.  
  
"A few weeks, at least." Braska replied. "Rin travels between Al Bhed territory and Bevelle a lot, so he could bring it back when he returns to Bevelle."  
  
"Rin?" Rikku asked. She didn't know that he was a friend of Braska's.  
  
"Yes. He's a travelling merchant. His merchandise may not be trustworthy, but he is, I assure you." Braska smiled. "Well how about it?"  
  
Rikku nodded. "It's useless to me unless I can get it working. Please tell Rin that this is extremely important, and to pass that onto my fa-… Cid as well."  
  
"Of course." Braska replied, taking the chip from Rikku. "Now, I must get back to Yuna. I shall pass this onto Rin tonight."  
  
"Thank you so much Braska… Oh, how is little Yunie doing?"  
  
Braska chuckled. "Much better. Her fever has dropped dramatically. I'm really quite relieved."  
  
"As am I. I just know that she's a very special girl." Rikku smiled.  
  
Braska returned the smile. "Thank you. Now, I really must be going. Please tell Auron to drop by later to tell me what happened, will you?"  
  
"Of course." Rikku nodded.  
  
Just when Braska headed out the door, he paused. Turning in the doorway to face her.  
  
"What is it?" Rikku asked.  
  
"You know… I shouldn't say this but… I think you're good for Auron."  
  
Rikku, totally unprepared for the comment, was unable to hide her reddening cheeks. "Wh-what???"  
  
"It's just… I've never seen him like this before. Yesterday morning, the way he talked about you…" Braska paused upon seeing how shocked and red Rikku was. "… Never mind." He said. "Good day, Rikku."  
  
But Rikku still caught the grin on his face as he turned and proceeded out the door.  
  
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A/N: Sorry Auron wasn't in it much 0_o He will in the next chapter, don't you worry! I know I've said it like, ten times before, but I WILL get these updates out more frequently! Hope you still like it!  
  
And remember, I can never have too many reviews! ^.~ 


	11. Unexpected Reply

A/N: Heee! Thanks for all the reviews guys, it makes me all happy ^_^ It really inspires me!  
  
Anyway, I got to work on the next chapter right away, so here it is!  
  
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Chapter Eleven – Unexpected Reply  
  
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That evening Rikku sat in silence, not a noise to be heard, save the steady downpour of rain that had started only a few minutes earlier. Since the chip was going to be a few weeks getting back to her, Rikku had nothing more to do except sit around Auron's home and try to think of ways to change his future.  
  
Not that she was having much luck.  
  
He'd be home any time now, Rikku realized as she saw the old wooden clock on the wall. It was actually getting kind of late. She had decided that the meeting must be about the high priest's daughter, and, of course, she knew what was going to happen.  
  
He would refuse. He would be banished from the temple. End of story.  
  
This wasn't really what was concerning Rikku though. It was okay by her that Auron would refuse the hand of the High Priest's daughter. That was as it should be as far as she was concerned. But how to save Auron…  
  
Whatever she did to change his current fate, she mustn't make too much of a difference. For instance, she felt that Auron should still be Braska's guardian, for it was that experience that made him the confident guardian that he was with Yuna. Without him, the group would have been lost a hundred times over. She must simply find a way to keep Auron from going back to Yunalesca. But how? She wasn't planning on sticking around until Braska went on his pilgrimage. That was almost two years away yet.  
  
Her thoughts were broken when the front door opened and Auron entered, looking tired and a bit pale as he removed his rain-soaked coat and seated himself in the chair by the fireplace, without so much as acknowledging Rikku's presence. His head fell forward, his hand rising to meet his forehead. Rikku could see he was really quite upset.  
  
"Auron?" Rikku stood from the table and walked slowly towards Auron. He made no reply. "Auron, you're a little late, I was beginning to wonder…" She trailed off. He wasn't listening to her.  
  
She kneeled down in front of him, pleading silently for him to look at her. After several seconds of his refusal to meet her gaze, she said, "Auron, what is it? What happened?" Even though she had a pretty good idea of what it was, she wanted to hear it from Auron first hand.  
  
Auron sighed, and reluctantly lifted his eyes to meet hers at last. "It is not your concern, Rikku."  
  
Rikku fought the wave of anger that followed Auron's comment. After all, she hadn't expected him to tell her right away, that wasn't his way. Instead, she reached out and rested her hand lightly on his forearm. She could feel his muscles tense at the contact.  
  
"Please… You're… you're worrying me…"  
  
Auron eyebrows shot up in evident surprise.  
  
'What did I say?' Rikku thought.  
  
"Worried?" Apparently, he was genuinely surprised that she would be concerned for him.  
  
"Well… Yes…" Rikku broke eye contact, trying to ignore the heat rising in her cheeks. "I mean… I know we, uh… don't know each other that well, but you've done so much for me, and… well…" Rikku trailed off.  
  
She could feel Auron's gaze studying her expression as though to find fault with her explanation. After a few moments however, he leaned his head back in the chair, shifting his gaze to the ceiling.  
  
"… I… have been proposed to." He said finally after several minutes passed in silence.  
  
Rikku lowered her head. She knew it. Of course, she would just sit and listen as he told the rest of his story.  
  
"The High Priest, he… Wants me to marry Meinah, his daughter…"  
  
"Oh…" Rikku replied. She really didn't know what else she could say. Finally she said, "You… don't want to?"  
  
Auron closed his eyes. "No…"  
  
"Why? Is she not beautiful?" Rikku wasn't sure why she was asking him this. Perhaps she wanted to know the reason behind his refusal. The future Auron always evaded all her questions regarding the subject.  
  
Auron grunted. "She is extremely beautiful."  
  
This comment sort of surprised her. "Then… She is very rude? Or vain?"  
  
"No… She is a very kind hearted woman."  
  
"She doesn't want you?"  
  
"The High Priest spoke to me about it because she asked him to."  
  
Rikku blinked. "Well… How come you don't want to marry her then?"  
  
Auron glared at her. "Sometimes Rikku, there are other things to take into consideration."  
  
"Like what?" Rikku realized she was pushing her luck, but she really wanted to know.  
  
Auron stood and crossed to the window. He remained silent for quite some time, staring out at the rain gently pattering against the glass.  
  
"Never mind. It doesn't matter anyway."  
  
"What do you mean it doesn't matter? What are you going to do?" Rikku heard herself ask.  
  
Auron didn't turn around to face her. "What else is there to do? One does not refuse the High Priest's request…"  
  
Rikku forgot to breathe in her shock. "You mean… You… You *accepted*???"  
  
"I really didn't have much of a choice. To refuse would mean the end of my career as a monk. I'd be banished from Yevon forever."  
  
Her mind began to reel. She couldn't be hearing this! It just didn't make sense! He was supposed to refuse her! He was supposed to get excommunicated! Why was he resigning himself to the request? Why???? She shook her head several times in denial.  
  
"No…" She whispered, barely audible.  
  
Auron turned around, taken off guard. "Rikku…?"  
  
"I don't understand… This can't be…"  
  
"Rikku!"  
  
She ran into the bedroom and closed the door, locking it behind her.  
  
"Rikku? Rikku!" Auron called from the other side of the door.  
  
But Rikku did not respond, nor did she open the door. She collapsed onto the bed and cried. How could this happen? How come he accepted? This wasn't *supposed* to happen!  
  
Why????  
  
  
  
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A/N: ha ha ha! I know, I'm evil! :) hehe, don't hate me though, it will get better! Review review review!!! 


	12. Confession?

A/N: I just can't seem to get a regular flow of chapters out. Argh! Well, as always, sorry for the wait... 'Till next time! (which will be hopefully be sooner than last time.)  
  
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Chapter Twelve – Confession?  
  
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It was at least half an hour later before Auron finally gave up knocking inquisitively on Rikku's door and left her alone to brood about whatever it was that was bothering her. And for another half hour after that, she continued to cry unreservedly into her pillow. Finally, she lay on the bed staring up at the ceiling, her brain once again beginning to function as it desperately tried to find logical reasons why this alteration had occurred.  
  
Needless to say she was utterly confused about the whole situation. What had she done to change the past? She reflected on every action since her arrival, and she just couldn't see what it was she had done that had affected Auron's decision. Her mere presence shouldn't have been what had caused it, should it?  
  
Eventually her face was dry of tears. It was time to take some action. Whatever was happening, she simply must get to the bottom of it. She stood up and listened carefully at the door. Opening it a crack, she could see that Auron had fallen asleep in that uncomfortable, God-forsaken chair. She shut it again quietly and crept over to the window by the bed. Trying her best not to make a sound, she stealthily slid the window open, and crawled through it. It was very dark and pouring rain. But Rikku didn't really care. As long as there was no thunder.  
  
She didn't know where she was going. All she knew was that she was accomplishing nothing in that room, and she felt she had to take action of some kind, to just DO something. Her restlessness was something she had unfortunately inherited from her father.  
  
It wasn't long before the storm completely soaked the irrational Al Bhed. She simply walked, oblivious to the rainwater dripping off her face and the sloshing sound her shoes were making as she walked. She hadn't been walking for very long when she heard an unmistakeable voice.  
  
"Rikku! Hey, Rikku? Where are you going at the time of night? And in the pouring rain no less!"  
  
Rikku turned to see Braska shouting at her from the doorway of his house, only a block or two away from Auron's.  
  
"Braska? I didn't know you lived this close to Auron?" Rikku called, barely able to make out his form trotting towards her because of her wet bangs that fell over her eyes.  
  
Braska wasn't paying attention to her. "For Yevon's sake, get in out of the rain! What in Spira are you doing?" The apprentice summoner hustled Rikku into his house.  
  
Rikku politely removed her two mini pools that were her shoes at his front door before letting him pull her to the kitchen.  
  
"You're positively drenched!" Braska exclaimed with a horrified expression as he saw Rikku forming a puddle around her feet.  
  
Rikku shrugged. She really didn't have a logical explanation.  
  
Braska brought Rikku a towel and draped it around her, and she grasped it tightly, suddenly realizing how cold and wet she really was. He then proceeded to give her a mug of tea and sat at the kitchen table across from Rikku.  
  
"Now," He began as Rikku sipped her tea graciously. "What were you thinking? It really is quite a sight to see someone taking a stroll during a thunderstorm in the middle of the night."  
  
Rikku focused her gaze on the hot liquid in front of her, refusing to meet Braska's inquiring eyes. There was really no escaping the question. "I… Braska, it's Auron… he…"  
  
"I know." Braska interrupted softly.  
  
Rikku looked up, surprised. Braska shifted in his seat a little uncomfortably, as though trying to come to a decision as to if he should continue. Rikku simply sat patiently, praying that he would follow up on the comment.  
  
He sighed. "Auron… He came by here right after he left the temple, Rikku. He told me… everything." He hesitated.  
  
"That… would explain why he was so late getting back…" Rikku commented softly.  
  
Braska nodded. "I could tell he was very upset… In fact, I've never seen him like this before."  
  
"Braska," Rikku started, "Did he tell you why he doesn't want to marry this uh…"  
  
"…Meinah."  
  
"Yeah, that's it. Um, did he tell you?"  
  
Braska became fascinated with the floor. "…Yes…"  
  
"Well? I mean, I just don't understand. She's beautiful, and kind, and there's nothing wrong with her…right?"  
  
"Please Rikku, don't tell me you *wanted* to see Auron marry her."  
  
The comment totally threw Rikku off guard. "What is THAT supposed to mean!?"  
  
"It means what it means." Braska responded, a small grin forming on his lips. "You don't want Auron to marry her anymore than he wants to."  
  
"And why wouldn't I want him to marry a… beautiful, kind woman like Meinah?" Rikku retorted, her heart pounding when she realized that someone could see through her.  
  
"Shhh! Keep it down, Yuna is sleeping in the other room."  
  
"Er…Sorry… but… well?"  
  
"I don't think I have to answer that, do I?"  
  
Rikku slouched, once again fixing her gaze on her tea. "Is it… That obvious?"  
  
"Well… That *would* help explain why you were sulking out in the pouring rain in the dead of night, wouldn't it?"  
  
"Alright Braska, you win. I don't want Auron to marry her…and I wasn't sulking! I was… thinking!" Rikku exclaimed, trying to save her last shred of pride.  
  
"Right. And the machina chip was a paperweight." He chuckled, but continued before Rikku to protest again. "Answer me one question and I promise to answer yours."  
  
Rikku threw up her hands. "Fine, whatever!"  
  
Braska's smile disappeared. "This is serious Rikku. I want you to answer me honestly." He paused and took a deep breath. "Are you… seriously in love with Auron?"  
  
Rikku's eyes widened and she turned away, in a vain attempt to hide her furiously blushing face. She bit her lower lip. "Haven't you embarrassed me enough?"  
  
"This is serious Rikku. Yes or no."  
  
"Tysh it Braska, if it isn't obvious enough already!" But seeing Braska's stern face she sighed. "Yes, Braska. You might not think it is possible because I haven't known him that long, but if you ever were to take my word only once, you would know that I am in love with Auron." She spot softly, and only when she finished did she allow her gaze to meet Braska's, who looked as though he were trying to suppress a grin.  
  
"What!?" Rikku exclaimed.  
  
"Nothing…" Braska replied as convincingly as he could muster. "Do you still want me to answer you question?"  
  
"Of course!" Rikku practically shouted.  
  
"Let's just say… Auron doesn't want to marry Meinah for the same reason that you don't want him to."  
  
Rikku sat in silence for a full minute as she tried to process the information that Braska had just given her. As Braska had just made her confess, Rikku did not want Auron to marry the girl because she wanted to be with him, for *them* to be together. Braska was suggesting that Auron wanted them to be together too.  
  
Rikku's eyes watered, and she looked up at Braska. "Are you sure? Did he… tell you that?" She asked him, her voice quavering slightly.  
  
"He didn't tell me that directly… But everything else he was saying to me could only lead up to the conclusion that he's falling love with you. I don't think he even knows it himself yet… The man has never known the feeling before, you must understand… He's probably having a hard time recognizing it. That would also explain why he was so frustrated when he was here… he couldn't figure out why it bothered him so much that he was to marry Meinah." Braska replied.  
  
"But… How do you know if he doesn't even know himself?" Rikku interrogated.  
  
"I know Auron pretty well." Braska responded, "I told you before that I'd never seen him act the way he does around you. Just the way he is in general has been different since you came along. He cares for you a lot Rikku. I was in love once myself you know, I know a lovesick puppy when I see one."  
  
"S-stop it!" Rikku declared. They both fell silent as Rikku pondered Braska's words further.  
  
"I think… the rain has let up. You should probably go back to Auron's before he finds out you went scampering out in the middle of a storm, down the streets of Bevelle, like a fool."  
  
Rikku nodded silently, and stood before following Braska to the door. She looked passively at her shoes, knowing they'd still be muddy and damp. But it was her own fault, so she didn't complain.  
  
However, as she opened the door to leave, she hesitated. "Braska… What… Should I do?"  
  
"Tell him what you told me…" He replied quietly. "Believe me when I say Auron won't make the first move. He will go ahead with this marriage if he doesn't know how you feel…"  
  
Rikku didn't like that answer, naturally, but merely nodded. "Thank you Braska… For talking to me and the tea and everything…"  
  
"You're quite welcome. Goodnight." Braska replied, bowing slightly.  
  
"Goodnight…" And Rikku headed out the door and back towards Auron's.  
  
Rikku found herself shaking her head as she walked home. She couldn't just confess her feelings to Auron! Braska could be totally wrong about it! And yet… A part of her wanted to believe everything he had told her… and the other part told her that even if Braska wasn't as sure as he sounded, she really didn't have any other choice but to take his advice.  
  
For the one point he made that was certainly a fact was that Auron *would* go through with the wedding unless Rikku told him how she felt…  
  
…And even then he might still go ahead with it if he didn't feel the same.  
  
Rikku crept quietly up to Auron's window from where she had snuck out earlier that night, having decided. Even if Auron didn't feel the same way…  
  
It was a chance she would have to take.  
  
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A/N: Wow… another chapter of Aurikku without Auron in it… Eh, I've had a few reviews demanding some Aurikku kissage… Don't you worry, it isn't far off ! ^.~  
  
And, as always, PLEASE review!!!!!!!!!!!! 


	13. Almost

A/N: Hellllooo and thank you again for your patience as I've agonized over the next chapter. I really am sorry it took so long. Hope ya'll likey!  
  
  
  
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Chapter Thirteen – Almost  
  
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Rikku sighed a breath of relief as she closed the bedroom window behind her. Finally, she was back in Auron's warm, clean room. Trying not to drip too much on the floor she removed her shoes and was about to climb into bed when she heard the strike of a match and saw a dull light from behind her. She froze and her heart leapt into her throat. Slowly she turned around to face the doorway.  
  
Sure enough, standing in the doorway, holding a match with an unimpressed expression on his face was Auron.  
  
Rikku remained idle, soaking the carpet, and neither said anything as Auron lit the lamp on the table beside the bed and then crossed his arms across his chest and arched a brow, cuing her to give start an explanation.  
  
However, Rikku couldn't find her voice, and so she remained silent. What was she supposed to say? The silence continued for what seemed like hours.  
  
"Rikku…" Auron whispered finally, his voice much softer than Rikku had expected.  
  
"Auron…" answered Rikku, "I think… I think we need to talk."  
  
The suggestion was apparently not something Auron had expected to hear, and his arms fell to his sides as he regarded her inquisitively. He shook his head. "I don't understand… any of this…"  
  
"That's why we need to talk." She replied quietly.  
  
Auron looked at the floor for a moment, and then sighed. "I'll restock the fire. Get changed into some dry clothes." He left, closing the door behind him.  
  
Her mind spun as she tried to think of how she would start, and how much she would tell him. She slipped into one of Auron's robes, but hesitated going into the other room. She couldn't do this… She was never good at putting her feelings and thoughts into words. She took a deep breath. There was no other option. Auron was in there, waiting for her explanation.  
  
And with still no idea as to what she was going to say, she entered the other room where Auron sat solemnly by the fire.  
  
She had been silent in approaching, but he knew she had come. "Sit." He murmured.  
  
Rikku sat down in a chair opposite to him, but stared at the fire rather than at Auron's face. The minutes passed as the two of sat in silence. Auron waited patiently for her to start, giving Rikku a chance to collect her thoughts before she began.  
  
"I'm sorry I ran off without telling you." She started suddenly, her voice finally breaking the silence. "I just… I needed to think. Auron, things have been so complicated, ever since I got here. I'm the kind of person who always has to take action, to come up with a plan for every challenge. But ever since I got here, I've been faced with problem after problem, each problem having to go unsolved so I can deal with the next one. I'm just… I'm at a loss for options right now…"  
  
Auron released a mirthless chuckle.  
  
Rikku looked up. "What?"  
  
"You're at a loss for options? Let me tell you something, you're not the only one who's been suffering since your arrival here." Auron commented quietly.  
  
Rikku stiffened. "What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Forget it."  
  
"No! Tell me what you meant!"  
  
Auron looked up from the fire and looked right into her spiralled eyes. She stared back at him with equal intensity. He took a deep breath aware that she wasn't going to let this go without an answer.  
  
Finally, he spoke. "Every single day I have followed a pattern and a way of life, never questioning anything, never having a reason to. But ever since I found you unconscious on the coast, it all changed. Since then I have been faced with everything from the evils of machina, to near death by a leviathan to marriage! If it hadn't been for you, I…" He trailed off suddenly. He had let himself speak before thinking it through, something that he almost never did.  
  
"You what?" Rikku hissed, her voice soft, but full of venom. Auron saw the fire reflected in her emerald eyes as she questioned him. He had hurt her. "You wouldn't have to face any of those problems? Is that what you were going to say!?"  
  
Auron held her fiery glare, finding himself unable to answer the question.  
  
"Well let me tell YOU something! Although you were right about me, and the machina and the leviathan, you would still have to marry Meinah, regardless of whether I had come here or not!"  
  
Auron finally broke the eye contact. "But it would have been easier to accept." The sentence had been barely a whisper.  
  
Rikku froze as her brain processed his words. Did she hear correctly? No, her mind must be playing tricks on her. She continued to sit in silence, as Auron stood and poured himself a drink.  
  
"Go to bed." He said finally after a few minutes.  
  
"But-"  
  
"You need your rest. Go."  
  
Rikku stood and walked towards the room in a daze. What DID he mean by that, exactly? She paused at the doorway.  
  
"Auron."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I… I have to tell you something." She had to do it now.  
  
Auron remained silent, waiting for her to continue.  
  
She took a deep breath. This was it, she must tell him how she felt. "I… I want to tell you that… um…" She desperately tried to keep her voice from quavering, but failed. Why is this so hard? "I…"  
  
Auron raised a brow. "Rikku. Go to sleep."  
  
Rikku nodded and retreated to the bedroom. She lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling, cursing herself quietly in the dark. Part of her chided herself cruelly for choking on her words, but another part was telling her that it just wasn't the right time.  
  
But when *would* be the right time?  
  
She lay awake for at least an hour, her thoughts preventing her from getting the sleep that she very much needed. Restless, she sat up and ran her hands through her hair. The rain had stopped.  
  
She stood up and made her way to the door, cracking it open. She sighed, for Auron had fallen asleep in the chair again. But then again, where else was he supposed to sleep?  
  
Auron stirred slightly as she approached him, but he did not awaken. After a moment, Rikku decided against waking him up. He wouldn't move anyway, no matter how much she insisted she didn't need the bed. She returned to the bedroom for a moment and returned with a blanket off the bed. Careful not to wake him, she draped the blanket over his slumbering form. She remained bent over him as she studied his youthful, strong, features.  
  
"I'm so sorry…" She whispered to the unconscious monk, not entirely sure what exactly she was apologizing for.  
  
She touched his face, lightly running her thumb across the stubble on his cheek. Leaning in further, she pressed her lips softly against the closed eyelid of his right eye; the eye had been scarred shut in the future.  
  
Suppressing tears that she couldn't explain, she straightened and headed back to the bedroom to try and get some sleep, despite the fact that morning was only a few hours away.  
  
This had to get sorted out, and soon.  
  
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A/N: Abrupt ending 0_o I'm really sorry this took so long. Heh, can you tell I'm dragging this out? This chapter didn't really turn out the way I wanted it too, but it wasn't too bad, I guess. I'm just trying to set stuff up for future chapters. Thanks for reading! Please review. 


	14. A Morning With Meinah

A/N: An.. Update? *faint*  
  
Argh, you just would NOT believe the amount of CRAP I've had to go through in order to get this chapter up. During school I was nailed by my exams, and then I had writers block, and THEN my computer crashed, and then it had to be reformatted, and basically this is the THIRD time that I've had to type this chapter up. [/venting]  
  
Haha, anyway, it's here now, and I just want to take a moment to thank all of you for your encouraging and supportive e-mails and reviews. They've kept me going ^.~  
  
Anyway, enough with my blabbing, on with the next chapter. finally!  
  
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Chapter 14 - A Morning with Meinah ______________________________  
  
"Good morning." Her voice was silky and seductive, enough to drive the average man crazy.  
  
Auron, however, wasn't the average man.  
  
"Good morning, Meinah." He replied, obligingly pressing the back of her hand to his mouth.  
  
Auron had awoken early that morning and left for the temple, peeking briefly in on Rikku to make sure she was still asleep. He knew he had to confront Meinah about the marriage, for there were things they had to talk about. He had found her here in the large garden just outside the temple. The flowers grew large and in abundance, the bright coloured blooms looking even more vivid in the morning light.  
  
"How nice of you to visit me, and so early in the day!" Meinah said flashing a flirtatious smile. "Of course, knowing you, this isn't a mere visit, is it?" She took a few steps away. She wore a fairly simple, but eloquent green dress, the hem grazing the ground, almost blending in with the grass. Her deep blue eyes contrasted with her dark brown hair, which was in a long braid that hung half-way down her back. She was beautiful, and she knew it.  
  
"I've come to ask you something." Auron stated, not wasting any time on small talk.  
  
Meinah smiled again. "Oh Auron, the question has already been asked and answered! My father shall take care of the rest."  
  
"No. Meinah, I wasn't going to ask that. Rather, I was going to ask if it was you or your father who decided to ask me?" "What does it matter who asked who?" Meinah answered, playfully curling a lock of her brunette hair that had come out of her braid. "We are going to be married, finally Auron!" She bent over slightly, plucking an exotic flower from the garden then continued to hold out the flower so that the petals were brushing Auron's forearm.  
  
She was trying to charm her way out of the question, and she wasn't going to get away with it. "Was it your idea to get married Meinah?"  
  
Meinah sighed, realizing there was no escaping the question. "Yes Auron, It was my idea for us to get married." Then she smiled. "After all, I was getting tired of waiting around for you to ask me. I knew you'd need a little encouragement, you shy thing."  
  
Auron raised an eyebrow at her comment. Meinah wasn't really trying to be conceited. She just figured that since every other man in the world swooned over her, Auron should be no different.  
  
That's where she would be wrong. Honestly, Auron wasn't sure how he had come across that way. It was true that Meinah and Auron shared a friendship-like bond. They were around the same age, and had many long talks while Auron had been training to become a monk, and she always had words of encouragement for him. Yet, in all that time, Auron could never once remember a instance when he had come across as flirtatious or amorous.  
  
".Why me?" He asked finally.  
  
Meinah looked a little shocked at the question, obviously not having expected it.  
  
"What do I have that you want?" Auron urged, despite her hesitation. "I'm just a ordinary monk, Meinah. I haven't nearly as much to offer as all the other monks here. Why me?"  
  
"I know." She replied in a whisper, dropping her flirtatious act and becoming quite serious. "But. I love you Auron. I have loved you since you first came to Bevelle."  
  
Auron did not reply, honestly not having expected that answer. How could she love him when she knew so little about *him*?  
  
"Are you saying," She started almost desperately, "That you do not feel the same way about me.?"  
  
Auron shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't."  
  
Meinah's eyes filled with tears and she turned around sharply, attempting to hide her tears from him. After a moment, she lowered her head.  
  
When she turned back around to fact him, she was smiling. "I understand now, Auron. It's not because of me that you don't return the feelings. You just don't know how to love."  
  
"What?" Auron asked, incredulously.  
  
"I know you well enough to understand, my love. In all the time I've known you, you've never sought the companionship of any woman. You simply do not know how to love, because you've never known it. But that's okay, I will teach you. You will learn in time." She sounded so confident.  
  
"That's. not true." He replied, crossing his arms defensively. His voice was low, and he was trying not to express the anger that was building up inside of him.  
  
"But of course it is, darling. You have never learnt to accept it, that's why I am the best person for you. Come now, can you tell me that you've ever been in love?"  
  
"You know nothing." Auron replied, his anger finally getting the best of him. "No only have I been in love, but I am in love now. And you know what? It isn't with you! Now, if you'll excuse me." He turned and made for the exit, not turning back to see the shocked expression on her face.  
  
"Auron!" She called.  
  
He stopped, but did not turn around.  
  
"It doesn't matter you know!" She called, her voice suddenly full of contempt. "I will make you understand that I'm the only one for you! You will marry me, Auron, you know you must!"  
  
Auron did not reply, but simply continued his way out of the garden, and made his way home.  
  
**************  
  
It was ten in the morning when Auron got home. He had taken the long way home, deep in thought about the conversation he had just had with Meinah. It was is sudden outburst at the end that baffled and concerned him.  
  
He had told her he was in love.  
  
But, that was ridiculous. wasn't it?  
  
After briefly listening at the bedroom door to confirm that Rikku was still sound asleep, he sat in the chair by the fireplace, leaning his elbows on his knees as he tried to figure things out. Why had he said that? Who had he been talking about?  
  
Just then, the bedroom door squeaked open and Rikku came out, extremely groggy from sleep.  
  
"Mornin' Auron." She yawned.  
  
"Good morning." He couldn't help grinning. She was squinting from the bright sunlight, and her spunky blonde hair was a mess, sticking humorously out in all directions, the funniest part being that she was completely oblivious to it. She just looked so cute.  
  
"Hey. What are you smilin' at?" She asked a bit defensively as Auron continued to smirk at her. She absently ran a hand through her hair, and then stopped, her eyes widening unmistakably.  
  
"GAH! Tysh ed, my hair!"  
  
Auron chuckled quietly as Rikku ran into the next room, attempting to tame her wild blonde tresses. It was then that the thought hit him.  
  
*It's her.*  
  
He stopped laughing, suddenly becoming serious.  
  
So it was true, what he said. It had been true all along, and he just never allowed himself to realize it.  
  
He was in love with Rikku.  
  
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A/N: Yeah, I guess that was kinda lame. Came out better the first two times I wrote it. lol. I know not a lot happened in this chapter, but I wanted to establish Meinah's character better, and I wanted a chapter where Auron came to terms with his feelings. Anyway, thanks again for all your reviews and e-mails, I love 'em! ^.~ 


	15. Coming to an Understanding

Well, this is my Christmas present to all you people. proof that I haven't totally forgotten about this fic! I really apologize for it taking so long. My computer hasn't been able to upload anything, and for a while I sort of lost inspiration for this fic, along with the fact that I was bogged down with a million homework assignments. I also apologize for not reviewing anyone else's work either, because for the same inexplicable reason, my computer won't let me sign reviews. -_- HOWEVER! I've finally dusted off this fic for you all and completed chapter 15 for you~! I hope I haven't lost my small audience lol. Happy Holidays! Enjoy~! ___________________________________  
  
Chapter Fifteen - Coming to an Understanding  
  
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Rikku re-emerged from the bedroom looking a good deal more awake and her hair was back in its combination of ponytails and braids. She frowned when she saw the troubled look on Auron's face that seemed to have replaced the amused one before Rikku had run in to tidy herself up. It made Rikku want to mess up hair again so she could see that rare smile that had been on Auron's face only moments before.  
  
"What's the matter?" Rikku asked hesitantly as Auron sat down in his chair, apparently deep in thought.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
Rikku shook her head, telling herself she should have known better than to ask him straight out what was wrong. She knew she'd have to corner him into a better answer if she was going to get one at all.  
  
"You've got your coat on. Where you out this morning?" She asked, deciding to start again, more casually.  
  
"Yes." He replied, almost absent-mindedly.  
  
"Mind if I ask where?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Yes you mind if I ask?"  
  
Auron glared at her, but there was a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth. However, in the next instant it was gone, and Rikku wondered if she had imagined it.  
  
"If you must know, I went to see Meinah this morning." He replied after a few moments passed in silence.  
  
"Oh." Rikku's short reply did not justify the turmoil in going on in her head. Auron was still going to marry her. Rikku was still wondering what she had done to alter the past in such a way. However, the forlorn look on Auron's face suggested they may have had an argument or something. Right now all Rikku knew was that she had to find out.  
  
"You still don't want to marry Meinah? Is that what's wrong?" The question wasn't well put, but she had to say something to fill the silence.  
  
"It is something I am coming to accept Rikku. She is a good woman, even if she is a little ignorant of the ways of the world." It may have been wishful thinking, but it sounded to Rikku like he was trying to convince himself.  
  
"So what are you upset about then?" She asked again.  
  
Auron sighed, knowing she was going to keep asking until she got a more explanatory answer than 'nothing'. "Something just came to my attention that complicates things quite a bit." Okay, Auron thought, maybe that was a little to explanatory. Now she was going to ask more questions.  
  
"So what is it that has come to your attention?" She inquired, proving Auron right of her overly inquisitive nature.  
  
It was time to change the subject. "Rikku, I think it's time we started looking for a way to get you back to your own kind. I know I agreed to help you recover your memory, but it is obviously not working, and under the circumstances, I think it'd be best for you to rejoin the other Al bheds." The words came without Auron authorizing them, and he was not quite sure why he said them.  
  
This comment came as something of a shock to Rikku. Did he hate her that much? She thought they had started to bond, but ever since this Meinah came into the picture. Tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked them back.  
  
"Why do you hate me so much Auron? Is it because I'm an Al Bhed?" Her voice quavered a little too much, but she couldn't help asking. Braska had hinted to her that Auron might have feelings for her, but it certainly didn't seem so to her now.  
  
"I don't hate you!" He exclaimed, although sharp as his words were, his voice was hardly audible.  
  
"Then why all this all the sudden? Why do you want to send me away?"  
  
"Because you don't belong here!"  
  
The words stung her terribly, more than Auron realized. He was right. She did not belong here. Not in this time, not in this house, and not with Auron. She turned away from him and covered her mouth with her hand as though trying to manually keep her face in a neutral expression.  
  
However, it was obvious to Auron through the sniffles and shaking of the shoulders that he had upset Rikku terribly, and he wondered if he had really sounded that harsh.  
  
"Rikku." He spoke gently, not wanting to upset her further.  
  
But before he could continue, Rikku interrupted him. "No, you're right! I don't belong here! I'm just messing things up even more!" Her voice was high and trembled terribly through shaky breaths. "I thought I could make it better but." She broke into sobs.  
  
Auron didn't have time to try and correct the situation, for Rikku ran across the room and flung open the door.  
  
"Where are you going?" He asked, vaguely surprised at the panic rising in his chest.  
  
"You don't have to look after me any more Auron, I promise. I'm just so sorry that it had to turn out this way, I'm sorry for messing things up." She bolted out the door, and she herself didn't know where she was going, but she knew she just couldn't stay around him anymore.  
  
"Rikku!" He called after her, bolting to the doorway where she had just exited, but it was in vain, as Rikku's form continued to run, silhouetted against the morning sun.  
  
"Damn!" Auron cursed through clenched teeth, but he did not follow her. Inside, he knew that Rikku's absence would make it easier to face his marriage to Meinah.  
  
Wouldn't it?  
  
Auron fought back trying not to answer his own question but it was no use. He wasn't in love with Meinah. He *was* in love with Rikku. He was going to be stuck with the woman he didn't love, while he let the woman he *did* love he be chased away.  
  
He might never see her again.  
  
Auron left the house too. He went in the direction where Rikku had fled, but he knew he wouldn't be able to find her in the twisted maze of houses. He searched the city for a long time, and with every step he took he knew with a growing sense of foreboding that he had just asked the only person he'd ever truly loved to take a hike, and that he *would* never see her again.  
  
In the early evening, he finally found himself in the local pub.  
  
He settled down at the bar counter and ordered a drink. He wasn't much of a drinker. In fact, he had never had a sip of alcohol in his life save a few special occasions. Never had he had anything hard anyway, as Yevon discouraged the abuse of alcohol. Right now however, he didn't give a rat's ass about what Yevon encouraged or discouraged.  
  
"What would you like to drink?" The bartender asked.  
  
Auron shrugged, and said the first thing that came to mind. "Sake."  
  
Auron didn't emerge from the bar for hours.  
  
**********  
  
Rikku had fled to the temple, because she knew that was the last place Auron would look, as it was so obvious and Auron knew she hated Yevon. However she also wanted to have a glimpse of this Meinah, the one whom Auron claimed not to love, and yet so obediently agrees to marry her. However, she didn't dare to enter the actual temple by herself in case anyone recognized her as an Al Bhed so she waited outside hoping Meinah might come out for some fresh air sometime.  
  
Sometime during the late afternoon, she saw Meinah and Braska exiting the temple. She hid behind a pillar, deciding to eavesdrop on them first.  
  
"Now now Meinah, just relax." Rikku heard Braska speaking to Meinah in what she assumed was supposed to be a comforting voice. Braska sounded more bored with her than he did comforting.  
  
"Oh Braska," She whimpered, "He left so upset this morning. I knew that the prospect of marriage was troubling to him, but I thought that if it was me he'd be able to accept it easier. I do love him Braska."  
  
"Do you really." Braska's reply wasn't really a question. "Meinah, are you sure you know Auron as well as you think you do?"  
  
"Maybe I don't." She replied with a pout. "But I *will* get to know him Braska, and he *will* learn to love me back! Did you know, that marriage terrifies him so much that he tried to convince me he loved someone else??? Isn't that ridiculous? Auron has never loved another soul in his life!"  
  
This news seemed to shock Braska, but not nearly as much as it shocked Rikku. Auron told Meinah that he loved someone else? Was he, as Meinah was suggesting, saying that out of the fear of marriage, or was he actually referring to someone else?  
  
Was he referring to Rikku?  
  
She had to find him. She had to ask him. Would Auron still be at home? Would she need help finding him?  
  
It seemed as though she had missed the rest of Meinah and Braska's conversation, as they now seemed to be parting ways.  
  
"If you see Auron, tell him I'd like to see him again, so we can talk more about this. He is ruining what should be a glorious union between us!" She said.  
  
"I shall tell him if I see him Lady Meinah." Braska bowed with the Yevon prayer and turned to leave while Meinah headed back into the temple.  
  
After Meinah disappeared into the temple, Rikku came out from her hiding place and ran up to Braska. He turned to her, surprised to see her here.  
  
"Rikku? What are you-"  
  
Rikku cut him off. "Me and Auron had a. Well.. A misunderstanding this morning, and I ran away because I thought he hated me. But, well I just heard what Meinah said." She trailed off, unsure of how to continue.  
  
"You heard what Meinah said about him being in love with someone else, and you think it might be you, and you have to find Auron to know for sure because you love him too?" Braska finished.  
  
"Yeah, something like that." She replied sheepishly.  
  
Braska nodded then sighed. "Why is it you people have to go and do things the hard way all the time? Okay, I'll tell you what, let's split up and look for him, because something tells me he's not going to be waiting around at home. Well meet at my place in an hour okay? I know all his little 'I wanna be alone' spots, and a couple other ones that a man might be found during a time like this." He assured Rikku.  
  
She nodded and the two separated in search for Auron.  
  
For some reason or other, owing to intuition, luck, or fate, the pub was the first place Braska chose to look.  
  
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A/N: Ahhh, so good to be back! I PROMISE SMOOCHIES IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, I SWEAR! Hehehehehehe ^.~ 


	16. No Words, All Emotion

A/N: hehehe, and now the chapter you've all been waiting for, or so I've been led to believe. ^.~ Enjoy~!  
  
Oh yeah, for those who blush easy, not to worry, there's nothing steamy in this chapter. I'm trying to keep this a PG rating! (well. for now anyway, hehe :D~ )  
  
***PLEASE NOTE - As of the next chapter that goes up, this story's Title will be changed to "Complexities of Time and Love". Unfortunately it's just as long , but it fits the story better than the other one I think.***  
  
_________________________________  
  
Chapter Sixteen - No Words, All Emotion  
  
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Auron was drunk.  
  
He was slumped against the counter with a glazed, drunken look on his face when Braska came in and spotted him.  
  
"Auron! What are you doing here?" Braska shook him, trying to get a response. Auron moaned, and made other incoherent noises.  
  
The bartender shook his head at Braska. "He's been here for quite sometime. He's only had a few drinks, but it doesn't seem he can hold his liquor very well."  
  
"I daresay he can't." Braska agreed, pushing Auron up off the counter. "Auron, why are you here?"  
  
"Sssshe'sh gone." He slurred. "Gone and I never told her I was shorry.shorry for telling her to leave, I didn't want her to leave I wanted her to stay." He mumbled on until Braska shook him again.  
  
"She's not gone Auron, she'll be waiting for you at my place." Braksa tried to reassure him.  
  
He seemed to sober up dramatically. "What??? Braska, I have to see her."  
  
"Not like this. I'm taking you home, I'll send Rikku over to you in the morning, if you don't have too big a hangover!"  
  
Auron moaned his displeasure, but he couldn't do much about it so he said nothing as Braska helped him stand and led him away from the bar and back to his home where he promptly fell into a drunken sleep.  
  
**************  
  
Rikku approached Auron's residence cautiously, early the next morning. Braska had told her that he had found Auron and sent him home, but he wouldn't tell her where, and he wouldn't say why she had to wait until the next morning. Regardless, she wasn't in much of a hurry, as she was terrified of what was going to transpire between them today. Last night she was convinced that Auron did indeed have feelings for her, but now she was overwhelmed by her own feelings and she feared rejection if she dared to reveal them to him.  
  
And she knew she would be telling him, she had waited long enough.  
  
She turned the corner onto to Auron's street, walking slowly. It was very odd weather today, she noticed. It was raining steadily again, but it was still very bright outside - a sun shower, and it wasn't particularly cold either. Rikku loved sun showers, but her thoughts of the weather flew out of her head when she came to Auron's front door, a note taped to it:  
  
Rikku,  
  
I'm afraid I awoke with a bit of a hangover this morning. I've gone down to the ocean to clear my head. Please join me there. -Auron  
  
A hangover? Well, at least now she knew for certain he wanted to see her. She nervously headed down to the ocean, realizing vaguely that she was going to meet him at the same place where they had 'first met'.  
  
When she arrived, she saw the silhouette of Auron's figure standing the grass covered rock which over looked the ocean, and the morning sun was peeking over the horizon, streaking the large stretch of water with orange and red hues. The ocean sparkled as much as the rain that fell around her.  
  
She approached him slowly and silently, but he knew she was there, for he turned around to face her, his expression completely neutral.  
  
She tried to speak then. To say something- anything that could convey her feelings right then, but nothing came out, and she found she was crying again. She cursed herself, wishing she could be as well composed as he was right now.  
  
Auron stepped up to her, closing the distance between them. She found she was not able to look him in the face this close at this moment, and kept her eyes focused on his boots.  
  
But his hand had come down and grasped her chin. Trembling, she allowed him to lift her face up until she could feel the soft droplets of rain against her face, and her eyes were locked with his. His thumb brushed over her cheeks, wiping away Rikku's tears.  
  
Like Rikku, he was fairly soaked through from the rain, his hair damp and clinging to his head. However, he didn't seem to care as his eyes continued to gaze intensely into hers. His eyes said all without words, and Rikku cried some more as she remembered that it was very much like the time when she had shared her one and only kiss with the future Auron - No words, all emotion.  
  
Even though she watched as his face drew closer and tilted, it was still came as a surprise when she finally felt his lips brush against hers. They were soft and undemanding, his stubble only lightly brushing against her skin. It was almost as though he were afraid of being rejected, but when Rikku began to kiss him back, he grew more confident, allowing his hand to brush past her face and down her back. Rikku ran her hands over his wet face marvelling in how smooth his skin felt in comparison to his later years, but even more astounded at how similar the kiss felt to his future self. Seeing his eyes were closed in indulgence, she decided to do the same, and she revelled in his kiss for a long time, her arms now wrapped tightly around him.  
  
Rikku was so entranced by the kiss that she barely noticed when her back touched the soft grass, or Auron's weight on top of her. He supported himself a little with his left arm while his other hand continually ran through her damp hair. She shivered with pleasure whenever he glided his tongue lightly against her lips, not demanding entrance, but simply to taste her. She began to do the same, and occasionally their tongues would find each other, lightly brushing together. Rikku couldn't get enough of these sensations of his lips, or his hand in her hair, or the feel of his smooth taught muscles as she constantly ran her hand up and down his arm.  
  
She had never thought she would be this happy again. She thought happiness had been taken from her forever the day the future Auron had vanished to the farplane. She had never thought she would feel his mouth on hers again. But here it was, happening right now, and she prayed to whatever deity was listening that this was not a divine dream to only fade away and elude her, as her Auron once had.  
  
Auron was equally immersed in the action, and all he could think of was how he could have ever considered, even for a moment, marrying Meinah and not this amazing beautiful woman who had made him feel things he'd never felt before and who would leave him a changed man indefinitely.  
  
There was no way he could Marry Meinah now.  
  
So, finally and reluctantly he drew his face up away from hers to tell her so.  
  
However, before he could open his mouth to speak, a thunderous blast could be heard not too far off, and as they both sat up in shock they saw flames and smoke curling towards the sky -  
  
Situating from Bevelle temple.  
  
They quickly exchanged surprised glances, jumped to their feet, and bolted off towards the site of the sudden but devastating explosion.  
  
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A/N: Okay so I got a bit carried away with the smoochies, but give me a break, I've been waiting for this chapter as much as you guys have, hehe! I hope the 'big kiss' chapter wasn't a disappointment. ^.~ Thank you all so much for your kind reviews, hopefully I'll have the next chapter up in a little bit. ^_^ 


	17. The Attack

A/N:

It has been approximately five years since I have updated this story. I never forgave myself for leaving you all hanging for so long. I hate, and I do mean hate not finishing what I start. And so, all this time later, despite that I'm well out of my teenage years now and have developed a somewhat different writing style - I'm going to finish this. Screw it if it doesn't fit with the second game! Screw it if I lost all my fans because I took so damn long! Although I'll be honest, it was reading those reviews recently that gave me the inspiration to finish... so if any of you read this, _thank you so much_ for not giving up on this fic!

* * *

Chapter Seventeen - The Attack

Auron ran as fast as he could towards the temple, a million thoughts racing through his head. His instant worry was that Braska might be at the temple, that Sin might be attacking. He only hoped he could get there fast enough, as they had to run north a long way up-shore where the buildings stood along the shore.

The more his thoughts raced the faster he moved, until he heard a small voice cry in the distance.

"Auron! Wait up! Auron!" It cried.

Rikku!

He stopped and turned around abruptly to find that she was running several yards behind him.

"Rikku," he shouted. "You need to find safety! It may very well be Sin, Rikku!"

She kept running until she reached him, stopping just in front of him, leaning over and resting her hands on her knees as she huffed to catch her breath.

"I... know," she gasped. "But... I'm still... coming with you!" With another gulp she added, "I can fight Auron! I can fight well!"

"I can't let you!"

"There's no time to argue!" And before Auron could further protest, she began running ahead towards to temple. Auron had no choice but to follow.

As they got closer Bevelle, Auron's worst fears were realized. Chaos had griped Bevelle. Hundreds of people were running and screaming. Screaming that one word that sent chills down the spine of all the people of Spira.

"SIN! SIN!"

Sure enough, as they ran around the corner of a building to face the horizon, there loomed Sin. It had emerged from the water and was attacking the temple that stood not far from the water. A large chunk of the temple appeared to have been blown off, and that is where all the smoke was rising from.

"But why?" Auron breathed. He knew that Bevelle was the most heavily protected city in all of Spira. While no one could deter Sin directly from attacking, they had their ways of luring Sin away when it got too close, sometimes even using decoys.

Rarely did those strategies not work. It was how Bevelle got as large as it did. What now, could have provoked this attack?

He and Rikku pushed against the crowd running in the opposite direction and made it to the temple. Auron could see the guards along the shoreline making feeble attempts to dissuade the monster from continuing its attack on the temple.

"Auron, its Braska!" Rikku shouted, pointing at a familiar figure rushing through the crowd towards them.

"Braska, are you alright!"

The robed man's features were pale, and the usual merriment in his eyes was absent. "Auron, Rikku! We have to go in! We have to save her!"

"What are you talking about?" Auron asked, grabbing Braska's arms and looking him intensely. "Save who??"

Braska was beside himself with anxiety. "When I'm training during the day, I get Meinah to babysit Yuna... When Sin attacked, I hoped they had been in the courtyard and therefore could get away quickly, but I haven't seen them and I fear they are still inside!"

It was then that Auron was the swept with the feeling that something else was drastically awry. But the urgency of the situation did not allow him to give the feeling much though.

"You are an apprentice summoner and not equipt to fight should the need arise. Take Rikku to a safe place, I'll get Yuna." Auron said.

"I told you!" Rikku said, stamping her foot. "I am coming with you!"

Braska nodded. "I am as well!"

Auron's eyes narrowed and he spoke in a low, authoritative tone that impeccably sounded like the wise, unsent Auron Rikku knew from the future. "Braska, you _know_ you can not, as you duty to Spira as a prospect Summoner, you know you can not."

Braska bowed his head, and held it in his hands. "But my daughter..."

"It's going to be okay. We'll get Yunie for you," Rikku said, bending over slightly so she could look up into the stooped man's face.

Auron regarded Rikku as she comforted their friend. He wanted to say something like he had to Braska that could forbid her to join him, but he knew there was nothing he could say. The spunky blonde had proven she had a stubborn streak that could rival his. And there was no time.

"We must hurry," he said. He turned and sprinted into the temple.

Rikku nodded and followed, leaving Braska on his knees amidst the chaos, until an acolyte found him and guided him away from the terrible scene.

* * *

Inside the temple was debris from the earlier blow, and fire caused by Sins magic. Auron vaguely wondered why Sin hadn't ripped the entire building apart by now. Again, he was seized by the notion that there was something else amiss.

The main hall was deserted. Auron supposed they must be in one of the back rooms. There were two main ones, on either side of the entrance that led to the cloister of trials.

"Maybe we should split up," Rikku suggested.

Auron did not like this idea. Separating ways would mean he had to worry about the whereabouts of not just little Yuna, but Rikku as well. And if Sin did decide on a whim to tear down the whole building... he would most likely not be able to save her. However, there was no time, and Rikku was already heading to the room towards the left.

"Hurry, Auron!"

Auron considered going after her for a split moment, but then better judged that he should proceed to the room on the right.

As he got closer to the room, he felt a chill as he spotted two blood trails. One appeared to lead past the closed door. The other lead to a lump on the floor by the door. He realized with dismay that it was a young man.

He kneeled by teenage boy. He was just a young acolyte. Auron recognized him from mass of course, but could not remember his name. He had a deep wound in his stomach. He was dying.

"Lady Meinah..." he whispered, voice gurgling. "Sin..."

Auron could barely hear him and he leaned in closer. "What? Has Sin killed Meinah?"

The acolyte shook his head weakly. "Sin has touched her... She has gone mad!"

With that, his body went limp.

The feeling that had first haunted Auron outside the temple was now consuming him, causing his heart to beat frenetically.

Filled with dread, he opened the door.

The first thing he saw in the ornate room was a Sin-spawn. It was maimed and barely alive. Next to it was a sight that made Auron's blood boil with hatred for the thing that had caused it.. It was Yuna, huddled under a table and sobbing relentlessly, her face buried in her knees, and her arms hugged tightly around them. She was splattered with blood.

The last sight almost caused his heart to stop and his blood to chill.

For it was Meinah, smiling serenely at him, a bloody dagger in her hand.


	18. Demented Beauty

Chapter Eighteen - Demented Beauty

"My beloved Auron," Meinah said sweetly and innocently, even as the dagger was held tightly in her grasp. "You have come to save me!"

"What happened here!" Auron kept shifting his gaze between the sin-spawn, Yuna, and Meinah, unsure of what to take care of first. Yuna was on the side of the room opposite from Meinah and the sin-spawn, and he took relief that she at least appeared to be out of any immediate danger.

"I think its pretty obvious!" snapped Meinah. "I'm being attacked by Sin!" she continued, referring to the maimed sin-spawn.

The creature half-heartedly attempted to hoist itself onto its many legs, but kept stumbling. It looked as though it hadn't much will to live. Without further hesitation, he drew his sword and thrust the blade into the fiend. It shivered briefly, then collapsed dead on the floor.

Auron turned back to Meinah, his mind working quickly. He had seen two blood trails upon arriving at the door - only one of them belonged to the acolyte. The other was definitely from the sin-spawn, which means it was wounded before it had even gotten into the room. The room also showed no sign of a monster's forced entry. That could only mean one thing.

"You brought that sin-spawn in here! Why did you do that?"

Meinah gasped with apparent disbelief. "I did no such thing!"

"Yes you did! You attacked that boy out there! You're still holding the weapon!"

Meinah's innocent smile faltered, but she kept up the charade. "I was defending myself. Sin had gotten to him and had driven him mad. He was attacking me."

"You took Yuna hostage!"

Now Meinah dropped the dagger and instead shot daggers with her eyes at Auron. "How DARE you! I am the High Priest's daughter! The little girl has nothing to do with this! It's not my fault Braska dumped her on me! Its not my fault about Sin either," here her eyes softened weirdly. "But it just makes it that much more romantic, doesn't it? I _knew _that if something bad were to happen to me, you'd appreciate me and realize how much you love me, Auron!"

Auron felt sick as the truth hit him. She must have found the weakened sin-spawn some where along the outskirts of the city and brought it here to make it appear as though she were being attacked. The young acolyte must have tried to 'rescue' her only to find the sharp end of her dagger. She wanted him, Auron, to save her in a glorious romantic drama. Yuna was just an extra in her plans, it seemed.

And so was Sin.

Sin!

The last piece of the puzzle slid into place in Auron's brain. Sin must be attacking because it was looking for its spawn!

"You foolish, crazy woman!" Auron spat. "You have put this entire city in danger!"

Meinah looked shocked and affronted by this. "What?!?

"Had you no idea that Sin _always_ returns for its spawn??"

Meinah stared at him disbelievingly.

Just then Rikku burst into the room.

"There's no one in the other ro– Tysh!" she exclaimed, cutting herself off as she saw three people and fiend all in the room. "What is going on here?!"

"Get Yuna and get out of here!" Auron commanded, now not taking his eyes off Meinah.

Meinah looked from Auron to Rikku, then back to Auron. She said and did nothing as Rikku glared at her, and approached Yuna who was still huddled under the table.

"Come on, Yunie," she said gently to the frightened girl.

Yuna lifted her head up slowly and lifted two big watery eyes - one blue, one green - up to meet Rikku's spiraled pupils. It nearly broke Rikku's heart to see her cousin's young self like this. Her face and clothes were splattered with blood, but it wasn't hers and she seemed unharmed.

Rikku extended her hand, and with trembling lips, Yuna took it. She was so trusting, even in the midst of this horror. Rikku couldn't help it, she pulled the little girl into an embrace, which she returned, grateful for the compassionate act from a sane human being.

"Everything is alright, Yunie," she whispered. Then she stood up, and led Yuna past the dying fiend to the door.

"Mr. Auron, come with us!" Both Rikku and Auron were surprised to hear Yuna's small voice.

"Go on ahead with Rikku, I will meet you both outside."

With a gentle tugging of the child's hand, Rikku nodded at Auron and left the scene.

For a long moment, Auron and Meinah merely stood there and glared at each other. Auron hoped that the ceased attacks on the building meant that Sin had sensed its spawn was dead and had given up, or else the guards had been able to lure it away. At any rate, all immediate danger seemed to have dissipated for the moment. Still, he stood staring at the beautiful, but crazy woman across the room from him and knew that the worst was not over.

Meinah did not attempt to pick up the dagger, nor did she make a threatening gesture as she slowly walked towards the scarlet-clad man. Her slow, seductive movements made it seem like forever before she had half-crossed the room. She was still walking slowly when she spoke.

"It's her, isn't it. That 'Rikku'."

Auron did not have to ask what she meant.

"Yes," he replied, his eyes studying her intently.

"... Auron, how could you do this to me?" Her eyes were wide and desperate as she gazed helplessly into his eyes.

The question seemed ludicrous to him. It was only dawning on him now how mad Meinah really must be. He understood, from the expression on her face, that she did not mean any harm to come to anyone. However, she was so self-absorbed that she could not see that anything she did could be wrong, and too stupid to understand the consequences of her actions.

Auron shook his head.

"Meinah, you will be locked away for this," he said quietly. The woman continued to draw nearer to him, but he continued. "You've murdered a teenage boy! You smuggled a _sin-spawn_ into the temple! You probably caused countless deaths and injuries because of your stupid, selfish desires for a man you don't truly know."

By this point, Meinah had stopped walking. She was face to face with Auron, barely a few inches between them.

To his surprise, she smiled.

"You are wrong," she said, almost sweetly. She then stretched up and leaned in towards his face. "Who am I, Auron? The daughter of the most powerful man in Bevelle. Who are you? Who are you???"

Auron swallowed as he felt the situation closing in on him, strangling him like a noose.

"You can still make it right, Auron. Marry me, and I will forgive you for your horrible accusations and even more frightful actions," her voice was silky and low, like the purr of a cat as it toyed with its food.

Auron almost thought he would. He would marry the crazy woman just because it was his duty commanded by the High Priest. He would do it just to make the madness stop, to keep his name in the clear.

But one thought of Rikku and he immediately knew he could not give her the answer she wanted.

"I refuse."

Meinah's eyes narrowed slightly even as they filled with tears. However, she smiled bitterly and kissed his cheek softly. She then brushed her lips against his ear and whispered to him like a lover would.

Yet her words were now anything but amorous.

"I will _ruin _you."

And Auron knew she was right.


	19. The Al Bhed Legend

Chapter Ninteen - The Al Bhed Legend

Four people gathered solemnly in Auron's small home. The larger man was gathering certain belongings off the mantle and shelves, although leaving most where they were. This was none other than Auron himself. He worked slowly, carefully selecting which items to remove from the shelves, and inspecting each one with care before pushing it into a small rucksack.

The smaller man was Braska. He stood near the doorway, empathetically watching Auron at his task as he held the hand of little Yuna.

Yuna had been clinging to her father for two days- ever since the incident at the temple with Meinah and the sin-spawn. However, her eyes were fixed upon the fourth figure in the room, which was Rikku. Even though the girl could only peer timidly from behind her father at the mysterious young woman she just recently met, it was apparent that she was in complete awe of her. A golden-haired, spiral-eyed saint that had offered her the first comfort since Meinah dragged her into the back room of the temple.

Rikku, while her attention was primarily on Auron and his task, noticed Yuna looking up at her with wide eyes. She smiled kindly at her. As solemn a situation as it was, Rikku did not believe that little Yunie deserved to feel any more uneasy than she'd been forced to feel lately.

Since the girl's rescue two days earlier, Rikku had realized with slight panic that her encounter with Yuna might alter the future. Would she recognize her cousin years from now as the same person? If so, would it alter the course of the future? It was mind-boggling, and slightly unsettling. However, the problem at hand was Auron, and so she joined him at his side and kneeled by the shelf, as though to help him pick and choose the items he should pack.

It had all happened very quickly. Sin, while having been effectively lured away from central Bevelle, had caused a lot of damage, as well as many deaths and injuries. Meinah, Auron, and the dead sin-spawn caused a wave of speculations and accusations. The High Priest had to act fast and held a trial the very next day.

It was Auron's story against Meinah's. Auron told the truth. Meinah told a dramatic tale of being cornered by a sin-spawn in the temple, and described how Auron had tried to flee without saving her and she had to kill the sin-spawn herself. She even went on to say that Auron had brought the sin-spawn there with the intent of slaying it in front of everyone so that he would gain status within the temple more quickly.

Rikku very much thought that even an unbiased person would find that Auron's story made more sense. However, the High Priest, while not a fool by any means, also sported a severe weak spot for his daughter, and Auron was branded a liar, a traitor, and a shame to Yevon.

He was immediately excommunicated. Ironically, Auron knew that this punishment was the result of being condemned by a man who was only partially corrupt. Had the High Priest truly believed Meinah's story, he would have surely been executed. Braska's influence as a respectable apprentice summoner also helped soften the blow of the sentence.

Exile was not a punishment directly linked with being excommunicated. It was rather a given. He would no longer be welcome in Bevelle, for he was now a heathen among devout Yevon worshippers.

This is why a day after the verdict, Auron was packing his things. He needed to leave behind his life as soon as possible so as to avoid riots and further unpleasantness from the citizens when the word of his disgrace got around.

Braska and Yuna had come to say goodbye, yet there did not seem to be anything much to say. Mostly, they just stood and watched Auron as he said silent farewells to the life he knew as a Yevon-following monk.

"Auron," Braska finally broke the long silence. "Things will not remain this way, my friend. When I become a summoner, you _will _be my guardian. That plan has not changed. Yevon knows your heart is pure. And when we defeat Sin, all of Spira will know that as well."

Auron, who had been in the middle of selecting the single flask he would be taking with him, stopped and turned to face his friend. He said nothing, but their eyes locked, and Auron nodded solemnly. Then Braska dropped his daughter's hand just long enough to cross the room and give Auron a rare, brotherly hug.

"As soon as you know where you are staying, send word to me," the apprentice summoner said.

"I will," the dispirited man replied simply.

Auron looked down at Yuna and tousled her hair, a faint smile appearing.

There was nothing left to say. Braska and Yuna left.

Auron went back to the task at hand, and silence fell once again.

Rikku bit her lower lip, feelings of anxiety washing over her. It was just the two of them now, and to her the silence now felt awkward. She hadn't really been alone with him since their brief time together by the shore before Sin attacked. Their newfound feelings for each other had barely come out in the open, and she wanted to talk about it. She also wanted to know exactly what had happened between Auron and Meinah. Yet as Rikku watched Auron somberly tying up his rucksack, it did not seem appropriate to bring either of those topics up. Likewise, standing there saying nothing at all caused her to feel equally tense. She wanted to say _something_ that would comfort him.

"Rikku," he said suddenly after several minutes. His voice was very quiet, but the suddenness of the broken silence caused the girl to jump.

Rikku turned to face him and he was looking intently into her eyes. "You and I do need to talk... There are so many things happening right now. But for the moment, do you think I could be alone?"

Rikku was slightly disappointed to hear him say this, but she understood completely.

"Of course," she whispered.

Auron nodded. "Thank you. I will be leaving Bevelle at nightfall. Perhaps you can meet me back here by then."

Rikku turned to leave, but she felt a light touch on her arm and she froze immediately. Auron turned her back to face him and this time when she gazed upon his face, he was smiling slightly, looking at her with what could be nothing other than genuine affection. His hand that had been touching her arm slide up to her cheek, and he leaned in to kiss her delicately upon her lips.

With her cheeks bright and flushed, she went outside and left Auron to his solitude.

* * *

Once she was outside, she was not sure where to go. She was just about to pick a direction and walk when she heard someone call her name.

"Miss Rikku?"

She turned suddenly and saw a much younger version of the Al Bhed merchant she was well acquainted with in the future. It was non other than Rin. It took a moment for her to recognize him, for he could barely have been twenty years old.

"R- er... Yes?" Even in her surprise of being approached by the Al Bhed here in Bevelle, Rikku fortunately remembered that showing recognition would be very confusing for the young man. He had no idea who she was.

Rin stopped a few feet short of her, his expression one of surprise as his eyes met hers.

"So you _are_ an Al Bhed... Who are you?"

"Um... its kinda a long story," Rikku replied, shrugging sheepishly.

"Bevelle is not exactly a safe place for our kind, you know."

"I'm award of that. What are you doing here then?"

Rin produced a charming smile. "I have a certain amount of immunity here because of all the wares I've sold to the people of Bevelle. As long as I stay away from central Bevelle by the temple, where the strongly devout live, I usually am able to visit now and then without finding too much trouble."

"Why have you come looking for me?" Rikku asked finally, and then it suddenly occurred to her, her heart skipping a beat in anticipation. "Is it about the... erm... _machina_?" she whispered the last word, even though no one was around the overhear them.

Rin nodded slightly and looked around him, also as though he feared they might be overheard. He replied in a low voice.

"There is a pub not too far from here, near the outskirts of town, where we can talk about this. It is in a rather rough neighbourhood, but I think you'll find we'll be away from Yevonites' prying eyes and eager ears."

Rikku nodded and followed Rin.

* * *

As they settled into a small booth in the corner of the pub, Rikku realized Rin was right about it being the best place to talk about machina. The pub was fairly busy, but they the small groups of people were all keeping to themselves, speaking in low voices, as though participating in shady dealings of their own. It seemed an unlikely place to be pestered for conversing about sacrilegious objects.

"This machnia," Rin began. "Is extremely advanced. It must be from ancient Zanarkand. That is one of the reasons why Cid sent me directly to you, rather than to Braska. If Braska, an apprentice summoner, was caught with such an object, he would most likely be excommunicated. The fact that it is so advanced and ancient, _and_ its function remains elusive makes it an _extremely _sacrilegious machina. Braska is very lucky he wasn't caught with it when he passed it onto me."

Rikku's eyes widened, not realizing the position she had imposed upon Braska when he agreed to take the chip to Rin.

"Thank you then for coming directly to me. He's done so much for me in the short time I've been here, I would never want anything bad to happen to him," she said truthfully. "But.. What do you mean, its function remains elusive? You couldn't figure out what it does?"

"Its function is disputable, but do not concern yourself with that just now. The chip has been activated."

"What do you mean?"

Rin wordlessly produced the machina chip and put it on the table between them. He no longer needed to explain, for the machina was clearly working again. It was glowing eerily and the tiny buttons on it were lit.

"Its... working!" Rikku exclaimed joyously.

Rin nodded. "Yes, but we do not really know why. It happened as soon as it entered Home. As soon as I entered with the chip, the machina around me went haywire and blew a fuse. Just as that happened, the chip lit up."

"As though the chip sucked the power out of the surrounding machina?"

Rin raised an eyebrow. "So it would seem." He then leaned forward towards her. "Rikku, I do not know what your situation is, nor why you are here. But I must know this one thing, for it is very important... Where did you find this chip?"

Rikku squirmed slightly in her seat, unsure of how to answer. She couldn't possibly tell Rin the truth... Could she?" she looked helplessly at him.

Finally she replied slowly, "In the ocean..."

Rin stared at her, obviously awaiting more information.

She sighed. "There is strong evidence that it came from an ancient airship."

There, she thought to herself, that isn't giving too much away, was it?

Rin was silent for a long time. He was staring at the chip on the table, deep in thought. Rikku sat in silence also, nervously awaiting some sort of reaction.

"You know what is odd," Rin said suddenly, so much so that it caused Rikku to jump, the second time that day. "Cid, the leader of Home? He has a very young daughter named Rikku."

"That's um... That's a funny coincidence, eh?" Rikku smiled nervously.

Rin looked Rikku in the eyes, and his gaze was so intense that Rikku dare not look away.

"There is a legend, Rikku, that very few Al Bhed know about. Only highly respected Al Bhed are passed down this knowledge. The only reason I am telling you is because I believe it is the only way things are going to be put right."

Rikku was not sure what Rin was talking about, but she had a growing feeling of dread that Rin perhaps knew more about her situation than she did.

"The legend goes," he began in a low voice, "that near the end of ancient Zanarkand's reign, a ship was built that encompassed the peak of Spira's technology. Made by the same people who became the fayth, it is said that this ship had the abilities to travel faster than light and could withstand the impact of the strongest attacks. The scientists on board the ship created its most unique feature... the ability to travel through time."

A wave of shock traveled through Rikku, and she whispered, without realizing it.

"The Highwind."

"So you are familiar with the legend then?" Rin asked. "Or else how else do you know of it?"

Rikku did not answer his question, and instead asked him one. "What happened to the Highwind, in the legend?"

"That is a matter of dispute. Some say it was destroyed by its creators. The more likely story is that it was one of the first victims of Sin. They say it is submerged beneath leagues of water, away from where it could cause harm. As you can imagine, learning of such a legend could cause the average Al Bhed to go on a 'pilgrimage' of their own. This is why so few Al Bheds are told about it."

There was a long silence between them, and Rikku finally spoke.

"Rin, thank you for returning the chip. I know what must be done."

"Wait, Rikku," Rin said. "You probably guessed correctly about the primary function of this machina chip. But we believe it may have a second function. This is something else should know."

"What is it??"

"The legend hints that the instrument to control time is not to be sought. It speaks of disaster for the one who attempts to take the machina from the ship."

"D-disaster?"

"Yes. You see, Cid wanted to research the chip longer, but we thought we should get it back to you as soon as possible."

"W-why?" Rikku stuttered, her heart full of dread.

"Because of this."

Rin turned the machina chip over and moved pushed a few wires aside to reveal a tiny screen that had a timer on it. A timer with less than twenty-four hours left on its clock.

"It is also a detonator. When this timer reaches zero... the Highwind will explode."


	20. The Transcending of Time

Chapter Twenty - The Transcending of Time

Rikku felt as though the Highwind's powers over time had once again thrown Rikku for a loop. As soon as Rin had disclosed the last bit of crucial information about the machina device, a dreadful realization came upon her, and she felt time blur as she was seized by despair.

She had to get back to the Highwind, and back to her own time.

She had to leave Auron.

She had to do it as soon as possible.

Numbed by hopelessness, Rikku found she was not able to say much else to Rin after that point. It was just as well, for there was not much else to say and the clock was ticking. Rin murmured a goodbye and bowed his head slightly. Rikku choked out a thanks to him for all his help, and she stumbled out of the pub, and into the streets.

Her mind was racing, her heart was pounding.

Staring at the device in her hand, Rikku felt as though it were sucking all life out of her the same way it had from the machina that surrounded it.

Somewhere in her subconscious mind, Rikku had actually begun to play with the idea of staying in the past permanently. To stay with her young, brave, healthy, and _alive_ Auron. Especially now that she knew how he truly felt, the idea of leaving back to her own time had less and less appeal.

A childish, selfish part of her was trying to justify staying in the past anyway, after the Highwind was no more. But try as she might, there were simply too many reasons why she couldn't. It was too dangerous, too unpredictable to knowingly play with time like that.

It simply wasn't right, and she knew it.

The only thing there was left to do was to say goodbye to the man she loved.

The mere thought broke her heart. It was bad enough that she would never again see the man she loved, but she could only imagine how Auron would feel. She would have to tell him she was leaving without saying where or why, right as his life was falling apart.

Why did everything feel like it was her fault?

These thoughts felt like they spread out over an eternity, as though Rikku was once again slave the Highwind's merciless power over time. However, the time sped up all to soon again as she suddenly found herself in front of Auron's house in the growing darkness, only hints of orange color along the horizon left as evidence of the sun set.

She lifted her fist to knock on the door, but the door opened before she could.

She was once again face to face with Auron. And probably for the last time.

He regarded her solemnly, and even doused in his gloom he could sense there was something terribly wrong with Rikku's expression.

"What is it?" he asked.

Rikku's lip trembled slightly but she said nothing.

"Come in," he said. He couldn't see why he couldn't have one last conversation in his old home before setting out away from Bevelle.

The house was mostly the same as it always was, since Auron planned on leaving most of his belongings where they were, and did not need much to travel. Still, the place still seemed emptier some how, as though the house itself knew it would be uninhabited for a long time and had already taken on the aura of an abandoned home. The atmosphere was heavy with sadness and foreboding.

Neither of them sat down. Somehow, it just didn't seem appropriate. Nobody said anything.

Rikku's mind had been racing desperately, trying to fathom a way to tell Auron that she was inexplicably leaving. The silence between them grew heavier as the moments wore on, crushing the both of them.

"Where will you go?" she finally blurted out, her voice shaking.

"For now, I have decided I will travel into Macalania woods, and determine my path from there."

Rikku nodded , her eyes downcast.

"Rikku," Auron whispered. "It will be a dangerous journey... and were it a different situation I would never ask this, but..."

"No!" Rikku interrupted, surprising herself with the volume of her voice. "Please don't ask me to come with you!" She couldn't bare turning down the invitation to defy what she knew was the right thing to do.

"Rikku, what's wrong?" he grabbed her shoulders and stooped his head down, forcing Rikku to look him in the eyes. "Everything is okay, Rikku, I am an adept traveler and warrior."

She struggled desperately to keep her voice even. "But I... I can't go with you, Auron."

His facial features twitched briefly in surprise. "What... what has happened?"

Rikku's only wish at that moment, was that she could tell him the truth. That she could disclose everything about her situation and show him the small, foreboding machina device in her pocket that was counting down the time to their ineluctable and eternal separation.

But she couldn't. She knew in her heart she couldn't. It wasn't the way it was meant to be.

"I have to go too, Auron," she whispered.

"Where? To the Al Bhed island? I can come with you," Auron said.

"Where I am going, I have to go alone."

"Why?" Realization was creeping onto Auron's countenance, and the expression was tearing Rikku's heart apart.

Rikku just shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Auron." The pools of tears forming in her eyes were a testament to her sentiment.

Auron meant to question her more. If need be, he meant to shake her and interrogate her until she had to tell him. But the expression her face, along with the finality, desperation, and despair in her voice silenced him.

Auron released Rikku's shoulders and straightened his posture. He turned and walked to the fireplace, leaning against the mantle, his back to her. It was all ending, what was between them. He could feel it. The silence was speaking it.

Rikku buried her head in her hands.

"It's so unfair... I couldn't even change anything. In fact, I feel like I just made them worse," she said, after a long moment.

"What is all this talk about changing things, Rikku?" Auron asked, turning back towards her.

Again, the truth threatened to burst out of Rikku's mouth like an erupting volcano, but she only said, "I just wanted to help you."

Auron was again slightly mystified by her answer, but his heart melted at her words, and he answered her softly. "You have helped, Rikku. You've changed me more than you'll ever know."

"But-"

"Were it not for you," Auron continued, not giving Rikku a chance to voice her doubts, "I'd be marrying a mad woman who I did not love, for a government that would just as soon abandon me for not doing so. I would have been nothing but a drone, had it not been for you. And even if... if I shall not see you for some time... I am glad to have met you... to have loved you..."

Rikku threw herself into him at that point. He returned her embrace, his face not quite concealing the remorse and tragedy that he felt.

After holding him tightly for a few moments, she began fiercely kissing his neck, and worked her way towards his face, which he lowered to grant his lips access to her kisses. After longingly and silently kissing each other for several minutes, she finally pulled away and held his face in her hands, gently kissing his closed, right eye, the same eye that she knew he would lose to Yunalesca in the years to come.

At that moment, she realized Auron had to live his life the way he was meant to. Not only because she had come to realize that preventing Auron from an early demise would prevent him from being there to help Tidus, Yunie, and the rest of them with their battle against Sin, but because she knew there was simply no way she could ask him not to accompany Braska on his pilgrimage. It was his destiny, a destiny that he would choose whether or not he knew what would happen to him.

She rested her head against his chest, listening to his slow, steady heartbeat. Her original intentions here had been a futile effort, but she could still be grateful for the fact that she had gotten another chance to him again.

For they had a love that literally transcended time, existing both here in the past and in the future that was her present. That knowledge was enough for her to face the tragedy of leaving him.

"Will I... see you again?" he quietly asked after a long time, resigning himself to hear the worst.

Rikku pulled back from him slightly, so that she could cast her spiraled pupils to meet his rust-brown eyes. She smiled what looked to him to be a bittersweet smile.

"Yes, Auron. You will meet me again. Someday. I can promise that."

_But, _she added to herself,_ I will not see you again._

They parted ways, there that fateful night in Bevelle. They shared one last kiss in the new moonlight before Auron headed towards the forest and Rikku towards the ocean.

"Until next we meet, Rikku," he whispered, his voice rich with the hope of Rikku's promise.

Rikku merely nodded, not allowing her tears to fall until they parted, walking dutifully towards each of their said destinations with their backs facing each other.


	21. Return to the Highwind

Chapter Twenty-One - Return to the Highwind

Rikku had never walked slower in her entire life. Every step towards her destination was a painful struggle, her mind desperately trying to conceive a way for her to be with Auron without messing up the future/present.

Despite her slow walking, it seemed like no time at all when she found herself facing the ocean. Those deep, dark, cold waters that concealed the mechanical beast that demanded the demise of her and Auron's love. At that moment, she hated it. She'd rather of been swallowed up by the Leviathan than to enter that ships submerged dark corridors.

She waded out into the water, until the waves reached her waist. Then she stood there for a long time, staring up into the night sky. What she really wanted to do was look back, to see if Auron would follow her, to see if he would come running to her, begging her not to leave.

Against her better judgement, she turned around.

All that she could see in her wake was darkness, and distant city lights. The only movement she could detect was that of the waves lapping up against the shore. She was alone.

She waited a moment longer, and then turned back towards the open sea. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she submerged herself in the water and swam downwards, towards the foreboding wreck that had brought her here.

* * *

Auron was running as fast as he could.

He hadn't even reached the outskirts of Bevelle before he realized he was crazy to just let the woman that had changed his life leave it without _some_ explanation. He had let her go too easily, a bad decision that was probably due to his discipline as a monk, for he had spent a lifetime accepting the unfathomable and inexplicable, complying to the rules imposed upon him by Yevon.

But he was a monk no more. He was a man in love.

And so with the dawn of that realization, Auron had turned one-hundred and eighty degrees in his tracks and sprinted towards the direction he'd seen Rikku heading. And for some reason, he felt he knew where she was going.

Now at top speed, Auron burst out of the city and upon the shore that stopped short before a limitless stretch of sea. He stopped, gasping and leaning his hands on his knees, desperately trying to catch his breath as he squinted among the waves for some sign of Rikku.

His eyes widened as he caught sight of a slender figure just before it plummeted beneath the waves. It must be her! He tried to call her name, but he was too out of breath and in his heart he already knew he was too late.

Still he forced his fatigued body to hasten towards the water, in the vague hopes that she might resurface.

However, as he stared into the black waters, he saw nothing but his own reflection, and even though he couldn't understand where or why she had gone, he sensed that she was indeed gone for good.

_At least for now..._ he told himself. She promised him they would meet again. They would meet again, and she would explain why she had to leave, and they could be together again. Until that day, he would view every step he took as one step closer to their promised reunion. He would walk the path of the Guardian next to his soon-to-be summoner, Braska, not as a drone to Yevon, but as a man protecting those he loved. Braska, Yuna, and most of all, Rikku.

* * *

Deep within the ocean Rikku swam, unknowing that Auron now stood along the shore where she had been just moments prior. She felt no fear or anxiety as she swam, only emptiness and regret. The apathy that had taken hold of her shortly after the defeat of sin was taking hold of her again.

She desperately tried to cheer her thoughts by telling herself that she'd be back home soon, that she'd be back with her dad and Yuna, but it was hard to be cheerful about anything while swimming in a cold dark ocean, away from the only man she'd ever loved.

The ship came into view, and the same inexplicable hatred she'd felt at the surface seized her again. It had just tossed her into this time, as though to taunt her. It gave her a taste of what she had so desperately desired and then tore it away just as quickly. She couldn't imagine why everything had happened the way it had, but it seemed far too coincidental. It was cruel.

She squeezed into ship through the wrecked hull, and swam through the corridors until she came to the room with the time controlling machina.

Without a further thought, she fitted the repaired machina device into the slot where she'd found it. Immediately the room came to life, and she had to shield her eyes from the sudden illumination of the machinas around her. The screen next to the machina jumped to live, a message promptly appearing in green lights. She noticed the timer on the machina chip was still going. Apparently, regardless of whether or not she used the time machina, the ship would eventually explode all the same.

She swam over to the monitor, and realized it said the ancient Al Bhed language depicted the same thing it had when it had sent her into the past.

It wasn't until that moment that Rikku realized she had no idea if the machine would actually send her back to the present. It might send her further into the past! Or maybe too far into the future! There didn't seem to be any other controls or any way of programming her destination. If there was, she knew far too little about the controls to attempt to change anything.

At any rate, she did not have a choice. The ship had only a few hours until its detonation.

Anxiety gripping her for the first time since she'd dived into the ocean, Rikku tapped the touch-screen in confirmation, and prepared herself for time travel.

Just as before, a bright light shone in the middle of the machina's platform, and sucked Rikku uncontrollably towards it. As soon as she came in contact with the light, she felt air, and bolts of electricity.

She allowed herself to shut her eyes tightly and emit a blood-curdling scream as she could feel herself losing consciousness.

But suddenly it was all over, and she could feel herself huddling on the ground... Or was it ground?

She opened her eyes. Her heart began to pound with dread. For she could tell one thing right away.

She was not home.


	22. Bliss in Death

Chapter Twenty-Two - Bliss in Death

With shaking legs, Rikku rose slowly to her feet, taking in her surroundings. She had no idea where she was, but she knew this was not where she was supposed to be.

There was grass, and small flowers. It seemed to stretch out for as long as she could see. She could hear a waterfall somewhere, but could not see it. What alarmed her was the sky - if that's what it was. It seemed to be many different colours with undertones of orange. There was no sun to be seen, yet somehow the land around her was illuminated by some mysterious light source. She was surrounded by pyreflies.

All in all, it wasn't a particularly frightening place, in fact it seemed very peaceful and pleasant, but the sheer oddness and unfamiliarity of it was unsettling to her. The pyreflies in particular gave her the uneasy feeling that she was somewhere she shouldn't be.

"Rikku."

The voice caused her to jump, and she whirled around to see who had said it. The man that stood before her was none other than Auron.

She was simultaneously elated, frightened, and disoriented. She stared at him in wonder and disbelief.

She knew it was him, there was no mistaking it... But she couldn't decide if he was the Auron she had just left behind in Bevelle or if he was the one who had left her after the defeat of sin. He seemed ageless.

"Where... are we?" she asked in a whisper.

"Don't you know?"

Rikku took another look around, a lump forming in her throat. "The... The farplane?"

Auron nodded.

"Are you dead?"

"You know I am, Rikku."

She gulped, barely choking out her next question. "Am I?"

Auron came close to her, and his eyes bore into hers with an ethereal intensity. "You are not supposed to be here."

Rikku sank to her knees, both frightened and confused. "I was trying to get home..."

"Were you?"

The question caught Rikku by surprise. "Of course I was! I didn't want to, but I was fully intending to go home!" For some reason, she felt defensive.

"That machina... Don't you think it's a little too much of a coincidence that it sent you back in time to when I was still alive and a young man? And again, it send you here to be with me even in my afterlife."

Rikku did not bother to ask how Auron knew about the time machina. Instead, she concentrated on the meaning of Auron's words that were suggesting something that somewhere deep within her, she already knew.

"I sent myself... to these places." she whispered, somehow knowing it was true. "But how? I didn't have any idea about how that machina worked!"

"The machina of ancient Zanarkand is complex beyond our comprehension. But in short, it was able to read your desires. It took you to wear you wanted to be, deep within your heart. If you were completely content with where, or rather, when you are in life... The machina wouldn't have sent you anywhere."

Rikku felt her bottom lip trembling, but used every bit of her willpower to force an even toned, if not very loud, voice. "I have been so lost without you. I act all outgoing and excited about life, but I haven't been able to..." she trailed off, not sure what she was trying to say.

"You haven't mourned me." His voice was very soft and empathetic now. "Our relationship in life was so discreet and secret that you felt mourning me as a lover would have somehow betrayed what we had. But that's not true, Rikku. If you need to tell someone, you should."

"Auron..."

"After all Rikku, perhaps the others should know our story. The outcome of Yuna's pilgrimage could have had drastically different results, had you not come back in time to meet my younger self."

"What???" Rikku exclaimed, although the truth was already dawning on her.

"You had already met me years earlier when you asked me to be one of Yuna's guardians. I had those memories then, the memories that you just experienced. Had it not been for meeting you in my youth, Rikku, I would have never become guardian to Yuna, because I would have married Meinah and been forever a pawn to the temple. Meinah would have forbid me to accompany Braska on his pilgrimage, and therefore I would have never faced Sin with he and Jecht, therefore never meeting Tidus."

"We would never have defeated Yevon without you..." Rikku whispered. "But Auron..."

He cut her off, though his voice was still calm and quiet. "I do not regret anything that happened, Rikku. In a strange way that is incomprehensible to explain, things happened exactly as they should. And even though you shouldn't be here, this is as it should be as well. Your journey is over, Rikku, everything has come full circle. It is time to mourn and move on."

She desperately forbade the tears in her eyes to fall, but with Auron's last sentence they came spilling freely down her cheeks. Auron's eyes portrayed empathy for her sorrow, but she sensed that Auron, as the released dead, felt none himself.

"Hold me..." she found herself whispering.

Auron began to near her slowly. "Rikku, I cannot hold or touch you in any physical sense that is known to the living..." His eyes looked deeply into hers as he approached her, and Rikku felt her arms extending towards him despite herself.

He continued. "...But you can still feel my love for you, which is as strong as ever, even in death."

Just as the last word fell from his lips, he seemed to walk into her. She closed her eyes as she felt his presence and love wash over her, and she was overcome by supernatural bliss. It continued to intensify, and she felt completely lost to reality. Amidst the feelings of intense euphoria, she could also feel the essence of death, but it did not scare her, even as her consciousness began to slip away.

She willingly and joyfully succumbed to the darkness, which paradoxically seemed very bright.

* * *

A/N: This is not the end, fear not! Very close though! 


	23. To Besaid

Chapter Twenty-Three - To Besaid

Somewhere, very far away, someone was calling her name.

"...Rikku... Rikku!"

She didn't heed the voice. She was far too content where she was. Or at least, where she had been. Where was that again?

"Rikku!"

It was getting louder. She found it irritating. Now something was shaking her.

"Stop it, tysh ed!" she grumbled finally, surprised at how close her own voice sounded.

"What a relief, she's coming around!" The voice was very loud now.

She suddenly became aware that she was laying on something hard, and that she was wet. Very wet. With what felt like a great effort, she forced herself to open one of her eyelids.

Her vision was bleary at best. There were people leaning around her. The one closest to her was an old bald guy. He seemed strangely familiar, too. She squinted harder.

"Pop..." she muttered in recognition.

She was back on her father's excavation ship. How had they found her? She had been gone for days! She felt a stab of guilt when she realized her father must have been staving off heart attacks in worry of what had happened to her. But wait, how did she get here again? She suddenly felt very confused.

Her head was swimming with questions, but before she was able to figure out which one to ask first, Cid barraged her with his own inquiries.

"What were you DOING down there? Where the devil have you been!?" I told you one hour! ONE! You are in so much trouble, missy!"

Rikku recoiled. That vein in his forehead was popping out in a fashion that only occurred when he was really furious.

"Pop... Father..."

"Don't 'father' me, you know better than this!"

"But- "

"I don't want to hear a word out of you! You are THROUGH with this excavation, I am having the airship pick you up tomorrow and you are going STRAIGHT Home!"

"Yessir..." Rikku replied meekly, keeping her eyes downcast in submission.

Brother put a hand on Cid's shoulder, and interjected the lecturing.

"Ryc cra hud paah drnuikr ahuikr? Cra'c cuygehk yht aqryicdat, mad'c dyga ran eh pavuna cra kadc celg!"

Rikku silently breathed a sigh of relief. Brother to the rescue!

Cid forcibly shook Brother's hand from his shoulder, but he nodded. "I guess yer right," he said to Brother, and then to Rikku, "Get you hiney inside this minute!"

Not waiting for anyone to help her up, Rikku scrambled to her feet and scurried to her room within the excavation ship to rest. She was still very disoriented about how much time had passed in her absence, but she contented herself that she'd find out sooner or later, and that now was the time to rest.

It wasn't until she was settled into the top bunk of her bed that she remembered what had last transpired. She had seen Auron... in the Farplane! She could still remember the sensation of his spirit mingling with hers. It had been the most ethereal and wonderful feeling she'd ever experienced.

A sadness washed over her. But now she would never see him again... Until they met again in the farplane at the end of her days.

She remembered Auron's words... That perhaps someone should hear about their story, so that Rikku's memories weren't enslaved and unmourned.

She desperately wished Yuna was present on the ship with them. She was her best friend and closest of her family, she felt. But she was miles away in Besaid...

She sighed and willed herself to sleep until she was called upon. She must have needed it, for sleep claimed her moments after she shut her eyes.

It must have been hours later when she awoke to Brother knocking on her door before letting himself in.

"Yna oui ymnekrd? Oui naymmo syta ic funno..."

Rikku sighed. "Yes I'm alright... And I gathered from pops reaction that he'd been worried sick about me." She paused. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be practicing your English? You wanted to impress Yunie next time we visit, remember?"

Brother slouched but said, "Yes..." He cleared his throat. "I was sent to tell you... Airship will be here and you are to... make ready."

"Yeah okay... But can I ask you a couple questions? I'm kind of disoriented... I don't really remember much at the moment."

"Okay, ahead you go."

Rikku was tempted to snicker at his rough English, but instead continued with her question. "How long have I been gone?"

Brother paused, either because he had not expected the question, or because he was trying to find the correct English words to answer her. "Two hours."

She blinked. "What?! Dfu ruinc?!?!" she repeated in Al Bhed, sure that Brother had mistranslated and had meant two weeks.

Brother raised an eyebrow. "Yes, dfu ruinc. Two hours."

Her mind raced as she tried to piece the information together. So it wasn't that they had come back and found her, they had never left! The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. The time spent in the past in no way affected the time that had passed in the future. Auron had probably sent her back to the closest moment after her departure in her time.

Then she was angry. "The old man was upset about one measly extra hour?! Fryd y telg!"

"He acted over," Brother agreed in his rough English. "But it did feel a long time that you gone. Worry us not, Rikku!"

She sighed. "I'm sorry, really."

"Rikku... You find anything?" The sudden gleam of excitment that flickered in Brother's eyes told Rikku that he had been impatiently waiting for the right time to ask this question.

"No," she heard herself saying. She didn't even question herself as to why she was lying. The Highwind must not be excavated, she knew that much. Strangely, she didn't have any fear of them finding it after she left. Somehow, she knew the secret of the Highwind rested with her.

Brother's shoulders slumped in evident disappointment. "Well, still much sea to search," he said, then reminded her, "You make ready now, airship here soon!"

He left.

When Rikku had gathered her few belongings, she left the room to find Cid waiting for her, apparently to make sure she actually boarded the airship rather than try to stay behind.

As if she wanted to take any further part in this excavation, she thought.

"Behave yourself on the Fahrenheit," Cid lectured, as though she were a small child. "The ship will be stopping off at Besaid briefly to pick up some supplies, but you will be back on Bikanel Island within the day. Now _git_!"

Feeling less submissive than earlier, Rikku walked at a deliberate, leisurely pace as she boarded the ship.

For the moment Cid had told her of the Fahrenheit's stop in Besaid, Rikku knew it would be there, and not Bikanel Island that would be her last stop.

_Here I come, Yunie!_

* * *

_A/N _This may be the second-last chapter. I appreciate all the reviews everyone! 'x Kihana x', especially you, not just for that amazing mega-review you gave me on my last chapter, but for all your encouragement and support throughout the five years of me writing this! 


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